Damion Mitchell, Staff Reporter
WORK ON phase I of Highway 2000 from Mandela Highway in St. Andrew to Bushy Park, St. Catherine, is on schedule and is set to be completed by the end of this year, according to Jean-Noel Foulard, project director of Bouygues Travaux Publics, the French builders of the highway.
"Things are going very good. The part of phase one from Bushy Park to Sandy Bay (Clarendon) was delivered in September and the progress on this part is flowing smoothly," he told The Sunday Gleaner.
Phase I of the Highway 2000 project, which will connect Kingston to Mandeville, was initially announced as a US$390 million development with Jamaica providing US$107 million in the form of a loan.
AN OVERHEAD BRIDGE
At present, traffic is being diverted from one lane at a section of the Mandela Highway to facilitate the construction of an overhead bridge, which will mark the beginning of a 22 kilometre stretch from Mandela Highway to Bushy Park where it will join the 14 kilometre-long Old Harbour Bypass.
Toll collections were implemented on the bypass in September.
Mr. Foulard said that his team of 50 expatriates and 500 Jamaicans who have been working on the project have been productive enough to guarantee the December 2004 deadline. "To get every thing done on time it is a lot of work but they have been doing well," he said.
According to him, six more bridges will be constructed in this phase of the road development and extensive asphalting, the erection of road signs and security fencing and the landscaping are outstanding.
The project director said that there would be an exit from the highway at Spanish Town where another Toll Plaza will be constructed. It is at that plaza (off the main highway) that motorists exiting the highway will pay their toll, he said. Persons continuing to Sandy Bay in Clarendon will pay their toll at the existing Vineyard Plaza near Bushy Park in St. Catherine.
SAFETY
Turning to the safety of the highway, Mr. Foulard said that it was also the responsibility of the residents of nearby communities to ensure that the facility remains safe. Just weeks after the first section of the toll road was opened, persons began to steal the security fence, allowing strays onto the highway and placing motorists at risk.
"People have to understand that they have to work and live with these fences now. If they move them, then the cows will get on and cause accidents," said Mr. Foulard.
In the meantime, he said the designs for a six-lane bridge from Portmore which will be connected to the Dyke Road are being finalised and should be ready early enough for the construction of the bridge to be completed by the end of 2005.
Ultimately, Highway 2000 will connect Kingston to Montego Bay and Ocho Rios.
