Janet Silvera, Senior Tourism Writer

WESTERN BUREAU:

The Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA) has joined the efforts of private and public sector organisations in Montego Bay in calling for the dualisation of the integral Bogue Road in the tourism Mecca.

In a venture that has seen the business community in the second capital thinking outside the box, a group led by developer Fredrik Moe of the Cascade Group of Com-panies, says they are confident they can raise J$30 million to fund half the cost to expand the 1.5 miles needed to ease congestion into the city. In exchange, the group is proposing tax credits for all investors involved, from the Ministry of Finance.

Expansion of the road is estimated to cost from $60 to $80 million, a figure that the National Works Agency's (NWA) communications and customer service manager, Stephen Shaw, has confirmed to The Sunday Gleaner. He admitted that his organization has no money available to fund such an expansion.

Bogue, the only major thoroughfare into Montego Bay from the western end of the island, has literally become a traffic quagmire. This, according to Horace Peterkin, president of the JHTA, has resulted in the loss of thousands of man hours to several of the city's businesses, late attendance of children to school, attraction operators losing millions of dollars in cruise ship passenger sales and flight delays at the Sangster International Airport.

Inconvenienced

"The attractions sector loses millions because cruise passengers are unable to take more than one tour on this side of the town. In general, citizens and visitors alike are inconvenienced because the road is just too narrow to accommodate the growing number of vehicles that use the road, including vehicles from Negril and other western communities," stated Peterkin.

The congestion problem started approximately two years ago, when the housing stock in Bogue Village increased. Currently, there are 2,000 householders and their families emptying on to the already busy thoroughfare. This influx has placed severe strain on the limited infrastructure in the area, causing constant bottlenecks, particularly in the early mornings and evenings and whenever it rains.

A trip that would normally take 10 minutes from the stoplights at Gordon's Crossing (entrance to Bogue Village) to the Pye River Cemetery now averages up to two hours during peak hour, residents living in Reading and Unity Hall have told The Sunday Gleaner. The police have been forced occasionally to escort tour buses back to the ships and pilot passengers to the airport.

Grounds for contention

The citizens, who are frustrated, have taken their concerns to Minister of Transport and Works, Robert Pickersgill, who told them a few months ago that his hands were tied, because of lack of funding. Hence, their efforts to raise part of the financing to convert what has been termed a relatively short piece of roadway into a four-lane dual carriageway.

"The JHTA sees this as a creative solution to a serious problem that when solved, will have so many benefits to the community and western Jamaica in general," said Peterkin.

The idea has also been well received by the NWA's Stephen Shaw, who said: "We are not in a position to reject any money; we are open to anything that will assist us in making our road networks safer." However, he noted that this particular decision did not rest with the agency. "This would have to be taken at another level," he said.

In the meantime, he said the agency was seeking to have the problems relating to the Bogue Road and Montego Bay properly resolved. But he declined to say much about the plans at this time.

On the other hand, Mr. Moe and his team say if the proposal is sanctioned by the Ministry of Finance, he and his team could complete the roadway within six months.