Cars drive past the toll plaza under construction on the Portmore leg of Highway 2000. - ANDREW SMITH/PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR
CHIEF EXECUTIVE Officer (CEO) of the Toll Authority, Joan Fletcher, is inviting motorists using Highway 2000 to assist the Authority in monitoring the terms of the concession agreement between the Government and the Toll Concessionaire, Trans Jamaica Highway Limited.
This appeal comes as Jamaicans prepare for the official opening of the Portmore leg of Highway 2000, which is scheduled for next month.
According to Mrs. Fletcher, the concessionaire has an obligation to operate and maintain the toll road under the agreement between the National Road Operating and Construction Company (NROCC) and the developer, "in accordance with the concession specifications". From the operation and maintenance standpoint, the concessionaire must maintain the physical structure of the road.
"If the Government should see that there are any faults that need to be amended, the concessionaire would be advised and they will be given a particular time period within which they are supposed to make redress," explained Mrs. Fletcher.
In the event that the concessionaire fails to honour his commitment, he will receive 'penalty points' as outlined under the concession agreement.
THE CONCESSION AGREEMENT ALLOWS
"The concession agreement also allows that if they [concessionaires] get 100 penalty points in any three-year period or 42 penalty points in any one-year period, they will receive a 'warning notice'. If they receive three or more warning notices, the concession agreement can be terminated," said Mrs. Fletcher.
"Failure to treat the public with due courtesy and consideration when dealing with any written query or complaint, or failure to give adequate notice to bus operators who may be affected by proposed road works on the toll road in order to limit the inconvenience to the road users are also grounds for getting penalty points," she added.
Some of the other areas to be monitored under the agreement include road roughness, as there are specifications on how 'rough' the road is allowed to be, so as to not affect riding quality, skid resistance and pavement cracking.
"All cracks greater than 10 millimetres in width are to be rooted and sealed within six months of inspection," Mrs. Fletcher outlined to JIS News.
Contacting the Toll Authority
The Toll Authority is located at 11-15a Oxford Road, Kingston 5. The contact numbers for the office are: 929-6124 and 929-5119, while e-mails may be sent to tollr@dbankjm.com. Breaches may also be reported directly to the National Road Operating and Construction Company.
