PM Says Bypass For Montego Bay Will Be a Reality

Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, says traffic congestion is greatly affecting commerce and productivity in Montego Bay and that the time has come to make the much-talked-about bypass a reality.

Giving the keynote address at the itelbpo Smart Solutions fifth anniversary and grand opening of its business process outsourcing (BPO) Montego Bay facility in Freeport, St. James, on October 4,

Mr. Holness said the situation has now become untenable and that the bypass will have to be constructed to ease the congestion.

“Coming into Montego Bay and getting stuck in the traffic makes me recognise, and reinforces the point that the Government has a role to ensure that the infrastructure is in place to facilitate greater investment,” he emphasised.

“I can imagine the productivity loss that Montego Bay goes through every day… evenings and mornings. We are committed to building that bypass. We don’t want to make an error, so we are now in the process of doing all the studies. We have done the traffic count… we are doing designs to see where is the best place to get the alignment for the bypass,” he added.

The Prime Minister also noted that Montego Bay has a serious drainage issue that needs to be addressed immediately.

He said that while it is a matter that should be dealt with by the St. James Municipality and the National Works Agency (NWA), he is giving Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Economic

Growth and Job Creation, Hon. Daryl Vaz, full oversight to ensure the matter is addressed expeditiously.

The Prime Minister reiterated that Montego Bay is fast outgrowing its infrastructure, and the Government has a responsibility to make life easier for investors.

The Montego Bay Chamber of Commerce and other lobby groups have been pushing hard for a bypass to ease the traffic congestion, which has been plaguing the resort city for many years.

Immediate Past President of the Chamber, Gloria Henry, in making the case, called the situation “a critical imperative”, arguing that failure to construct and prioritise a bypass will “stifle the growth of Montego Bay and hamper the expansion of the tourist industry”.

“It will provide an alternative route for access to Sangster International Airport and for the over three million tourists that come via that airport annually and stay in northeast and western resorts,” Ms. Henry said.

“It will also divert the commercial traffic, thus allowing more efficient movement in and around the city,” she added.