MONTEGO BAY, St James — Government Minister Robert Morgan is promising that in less than a month, Jamaicans should see some improvements to the Montpelier to Mount Carey main road here.

Morgan, the Minister without portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation with responsibility for Works, made the pledge during a tour of the road by various stakeholders Wednesday afternoon.

“I want to reassure the people of Montpelier and surrounding areas that within three weeks the traffic will be no more. So we ask for your patience, we ask for your understanding, as we continue to develop your community,” he said.

The road has been a problem for motorists who have been encountering traffic snarls because of the poor surface.

This is primarily due to ongoing pipe-laying work being done by the National Water Commission (NWC) and the continued degradation exacerbated by Hurricane Melissa.

“One of the challenges that typifies some major infrastructure projects is the impact that it has on the daily commute of residents,” Morgan said.

“As you can see, we are building retaining walls, we’re re-laying the pipes, and we are going to overlay a significant portion of the road to ensure a smoother commute for persons traversing to and from the community,” he explained.

It’s a point supported by Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF) Managing Director Omar Sweeney, who explained that three weeks should be enough time to remedy the condition of the road to make travel easier for motorists while other infrastructure works continue.

JSIF is a partner with the NWC and National Works Agency (NWA) in the work.

“Within the next three weeks, however, the worst part of it, which is the surface between Mount Carey and Montpelier, we expect that to be rehabilitated,” Sweeney said.

“For the overall road project itself, that we are here looking at today, the road rehabilitation, including the resurfacing between Montpelier and Mount Carey, including the patching and including the drainage installation that we’re doing, we expect those works to be completed by the end of March,” Sweeney stated.

He said because of the damage to the road caused by Hurricane Melissa, which hit Jamaica on October 28 last year, as well as degradation over the last year and half, the NWA has come on with an additional $100 million of financing to deal with the rehabilitation and repairs.

That, he said, has now pushed the overall budget for the work to $750 million. The pipeline section of the project, he explained, should be completed by the middle of the year.

“We estimate to be totally completed with the pipeline, the transmission line project, the rehabilitation of the tanks, the installation of the electromechanical works towards the end of June, that is for the pipeline project,” he stated.

The Shettlewood to Anchovy Pipeline project is a $650-million collaboration between JSIF and the NWC. It was launched in 2024 and was in the final stages when Hurricane Melissa hit.

Member of Parliament for St James Southern Nekiesha Burchell said the development is welcome news for residents who face daily challenges in navigating the road.

Works Minister Robert Morgan speaks on the progress of the Montpelier to Mount Carey main road, flanked by Montego Bay Mayor Richard Vernon (right) and contractor for the project Steven Chung of Contraxx.

A section of the road linking Mount Carey and Montpelier that is undergoing work