- Norman Grindley/Staff Photographer
Traffic piled up last Friday on a section of the Old Harbour main road.
SEVERAL MOTORISTS who have been shunning the new toll system on the Old Harbour bypass said they saw no reason to pay extra to travel on the road.
One was forthright in his rejection of the toll charged for the 13-kilometre stretch of road.
"Right now, me nuh si why mi fi get charge fi travel dat likkle stretch there suh," he lamented.
Other motorists who have used the system are quite satisfied.
"I don't have a problem with it (the toll), I think it's a good system as it saves time, especially if you have to use it a lot," said McClooney Blair, who had traversed through the toll plaza.
Kingsley Thomas, chairman of the National Road Operating and Construction Company (NROCC) Friday expressed complete satisfaction with level of usage.
On Thursday, he said the records showed that 9,600 vehicles travelled on the new super-highway, the first major roadway to be built in the island.
"It was way above our expectations, and way above what we had projected,"
Mr. Thomas asserted. "We are not saying there were not one or two hitches but in introducing something new to a country one expects a couple teething pains," he added.
The NROCC chairman is predicting that the number of vehicles using the highway will be significantly increased, even more so when the section from Mandela Highway in St. Catherine to Sandy Bay in Clarendon is opened.
"...That is when we are going to see even higher usage," an enthusiastic Mr. Thomas said. Construction work on this segment, which falls under phase one of Highway 2000, is expected to start in the third quarter of next year.
FINAL DESIGN WORK
In addition, he said, final design work is being done on plans for the construction of a six-lane bridge for the Portmore Causeway for which work is expected to start 18 months after the designs are completed.
"Final design work is being done on that now and we expect that construction will start fairly soon on it."
Mr. Thomas explained that this is owed to the fact that alterations have been made to the original design for the six-lane bridge.
A portion of lands which were reclaimed by the Port Authority of Jamaica to be used in their port expansion programme will be utilised in the construction of the six-lane bridge.
On Thursday, motorists began paying user fees on the country's first tollway, $50 for cars, motorcycles and small Sport Utility Vehicles (SUV), $60 for large SUVs and vans, and $120 for trucks and trailers.
Officials of Highway 2000 reported that 11,000 vehicles used the roadway on the first day. Clement Lewis, a 28-year-old driver employed to Lagan Holdings and Surrey Paving made history when he became the first person to pay toll on the high-speed, dual carriage highway after crossing the toll bars at 12:01 a.m.
Day two, however, was not to be without its glitches. Motorists, on many occasions, had to be directed into the correct lanes inside the toll plaza, as some drivers were seen reversing, after they had entered the lane which was reserved for vehicles with tags only.
This misunderstanding occurred, the motorists say, largely because of the difficulty they have in clearly identifying the signs, upon approaching the toll plaza. Added to the mix of incidents, one motorist ran into the barrier at the toll, setting off an alarm. No damage was done.
However, after the incident, the toll clerk was called away from her post (apparently by management) to explain the breach. Her section had to be closed for the 15 minutes she disappeared into the office, causing drivers of a few cars to line up.
Nevertheless, motorists were able to travel freely without incident for the most part.
A businesswoman in the area, who requested anonymity, says that the congestion was disturbing to her business, as the horns of the vehicles and the sound of the traffic disturbed her employees.
She, however, remains hopeful that "over time, when motorists get accustomed to the toll, they will eventually begin to use the toll road."
T. E.
