WESTERN BUREAU:
WORK ON the $718 million dualisation of Howard Cooke Boulevard in Montego Bay, St. James, is progressing well, and the Urban Development Corporation (UDC), which is co-ordinating the project, is satisfied with the project.
At the same time, the Cruise Ship Committee of the Montego Bay Chamber of Commerce is pleased that ground tour operators transporting cruise ship passengers into the city of Montego Bay are facing fewer problems with traffic congestion along the Howard Cooke Boulevard, despite the construction work still in progress.
Responding to queries from The Gleaner, the UDC's Corporate Relations Department disclosed that the dualization of the Howard Cooke Boulevard/Alice Eldermire Drive is "approximately 70 per cent complete" and the project is on target to meet the March 2004 deadline for completion.
The main objective of the Howard Cooke Dualization Programme is the reduction of traffic congestion in the city, by converting the two-lane Howard Cooke Boulevard into a four-lane roadway from the site of the former Amphitheatre at Queens Drive, to the intersection at Alice Eldermire Drive and Bogue Road.
Outlining some of the features on the dualization, the Community Relations Department explained that "all roundabouts will be removed and will be replaced by signalised intersections", but "final paving of road surfaces and landscaping" are yet to be finished. When the work is finished, seven intersections will have traffic lights.
In light of the ongoing work, the UDC has issued an appeal to motorists.
