Access Road to Fantasy Beach Rehabilitated

A sum of $4.5 million has been spent to rehabilitate the access road to the Fantasy beach in Priory, St. Ann, in a bid to ensure the safety of visitors who use the beach.

In an interview with JIS News, Secretary/Manager, St. Ann Parish Council, Alfred Graham, noted that 300 metres of roadway were resurfaced, to enable smoother access for motorists as well as to reduce the risk of motor vehicle accidents at the entrance to the beach.

The rehabilitative work, which was implemented by the St. Ann Parish Council, was funded by the Jamaica Emergency Employment Programme (JEEP).

Mr. Graham informed that the project, which was recently completed, was undertaken in two phases.

He explained that before the road was repaired, the entrance was off the main north coast highway “at a blind corner, so it posed a high risk for motorists entering and leaving the property.”

Mr. Graham noted that the rehabilitated access road is at a point where motorists entering and leaving the property will have a better line of sight, “so the risk of accidents will be significantly reduced.”

More than 100 persons were employed under the project, which got underway in January 2014.

JEEP is one of the Government’s strategies geared at countering chronic unemployment among some Jamaicans, particularly those in lower socio-economic groups.

It also provides employment for persons with special needs, as well as those with low skill levels.

The JEEP, which is now in its third phase, has already employed over 44,000 Jamaicans under the initiative.