IN response to mounting traffic congestion along Jamaica’s north coast — particularly during major events — the Government has signed a memorandum of understanding with China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) to undertake feasibility studies exploring the potential expansion of the north-south leg of Highway 2000.

The project, aimed at easing traffic gridlock along popular sections of the north coast while boosting connectivity between key parishes, will assess the viability of two new highway segments — one stretching westward from Mammee Bay to Discovery Bay in St Ann, and another heading east to Tower Isle in St Mary from Mammee Bay.

Minister without portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation with responsibility for works Robert Morgan said the proposed extension is a response to what he described as unsustainable levels of traffic in the region, which, he said, is experiencing rapid growth.

“The problem we face is a consequence of the development that has taken place in that region over the past decade…St Ann has seen a tremendous growth over the last 10 years, far beyond what was projected in the 90s and early 2000s. With this growth, there has been significant increase in the amount of vehicle traffic in St Ann, and based on the recent traffic numbers along the North Coast Highway, the traffic volume in the parish of St Ann has exceeded the capacity of the roadway, resulting in serious congestion, sometimes gridlock,” Morgan said during the signing ceremony on Monday.

He noted that the North-South Highway Extension Project is being spearheaded by the National Road Operating and Constructing Company (NROCC) and will be informed by technical, financial, economic, and environmental studies done by CHEC, under the terms of the MOU, noting that they will carry out all required assessments at no cost to the Government.

“The cost for the MOU is expected to be, or the cost for the components coming from the MOU will be, technical feasibility, about $80 million; financial feasibility, $15 million; economic feasibility, $15 million; and environmental and social impact assessments of about $40 million. So the cost to examine the feasibility of this project is expected to be about $140 million,” added Morgan.

He further explained that the MOU outlines that in addition to technical assessments there will be robust environmental and social evaluations.

Morgan also confirmed that the project will “predict, evaluate, and consider potential biophysical, social, and other relevant effects that the development may have on the surrounding environment”.

He acknowledged long-standing concerns about the environmental impact of infrastructure projects and assured that “the environment will be a significant concern and will be considered in all aspects of its execution”.

In the meantime, Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness highlighted the need for more investment to be made in the planning phase of similar projects to avoid past mistakes.

“We have learned some important lessons from the Southern Coastal Highway Improvement Project, from Harbour View to Morant Bay and beyond. Attempting to upgrade a heavily used roadway without providing an alternative route will cause significant disruption and dislocation and we saw that consistently when we were improving the South Coast Highway corridor and even to this day, we are still having challenges because the truth is, we were not able to divert traffic onto an alternative route. So we were literally building the road while we were driving on it,” he said while acknowledging that the work created significant dislocations for residents and businesses.

He said that as a result, the Government is taking a more strategic approach to the proposed highway works by prioritising the North-South Highway extension before any upgrade to the existing road network is pursued.

“We are going to pursue both projects — both the upgrade of the existing highway and the extension of the North-South Highway. But we’re going to be strategic. We’re going to do the North-South Highway toll extension first before we undertake any upgrade or construction on the existing alignment,” Holness explained.