Work on Mt. Rosser Bypass to Commence June

Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller has said that work is expected to begin in June on the construction of a new toll road to bypass Mount Rosser, which is the main link between Spanish Town and Ocho Rios.
She made the announcement today (May 1), during her contribution to the 2007/08 Budget Debate in the House.Mrs. Simpson Miller said the new roadway would begin at the existing Bog Walk/Linstead Bypass and bypass the town of Ewarton and the hills of Mt. Rosser and Mt. Diablo, ending on the road to Claremont in St. Ann. She pointed out that Mt. Rosser has long outgrown its capacity and that frequent congestion along the roadway resulted in thousands of man-hours lost.
“The roadway was never designed for the large trailers and trucks which now traverse it on a daily basis,” Mrs. Simpson Miller stated.
She said the accelerated development now taking place along the north coast and the increased movement of people, goods and services demanded the creation of a competent road and that bypassing Mt. Rosser’s difficult terrain has become critical to national development.
The Prime Minister said that $20 billion has already been spent on the building of highways across the island in order to create the backbone for the development of the country and build the wealth of the nation.
The new four-lane dual carriageway would be approximately 24 kilometres long and would be built by Bouygues Travaux, the developers of phase one of Highway 2000. Construction is expected to be completed over a thirty-month period.
Another segment of the Highway 2000 project will involve the bypassing of the Bog Walk Gorge and Fern Gully.