Gov’t Proposes Establishing One Road Regulatory Authority

In a move to regulate the management of Jamaica’s road infrastructure, the Government has proposed the implementation of a unified ‘One Road Authority’.

The regulatory body will monitor and manage the various road networks, addressing long-standing issues related to maintenance, accountability, and development.

Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation with Responsibility for Works, Hon. Robert Morgan, made the announcement on Wednesday (April 30) during the St. Catherine Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s monthly meeting at Cecil’s Restaurant in Spanish Town.

While the establishment of a single road authority has been a goal of the Government as early as 2008, Minister Morgan said the need was further highlighted during the planning stages of the more recent Shared Prosperity Through Accelerated Improvement to Our Road Network (SPARK) Programme.

“To do the SPARK programme, we had a challenge. We did not know how much roads were in Jamaica. There was no one place in Government that said to you ‘we have this amount of roads’. So, the Prime Minister [Dr. the Most Hon. Andrew Holness] actually had to order a study to find out how much roads we have,” he informed.

Mr. Morgan said the study revealed that Jamaica has more than 27,000 kilometres of roads, for which various agencies, including the National Works Agency (NWA) and Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA), and Municipal Corporations have responsibility.

However, he noted that some roads that do not fall under any of these entities, posing a challenge when repairs are needed.

“You have the parish council [municipal corporation) roads], you have farm roads, you have private roads, [and] you have scheme roads that have never been handed over to anybody. Then you have roads that have been abandoned… and then you have the issue of who is responsible for the roads,” Mr. Morgan said.

He contended that the uncertainty surrounding road ownership when rehabilitation is required will negatively impact citizens, as none of the established agencies will take responsibility if the road does not fall within their jurisdiction. This is why the One Road Authority is being proposed.

However, Mr. Morgan noted that the full scope of the single regulatory body has yet to be determined.

“We have not decided the fullness of it yet because persons from the parish council have a legitimate concern that municipal roads are a big part of their portfolio. ‘[So] is the Government taking our parish council roads?’ The National Works Agency also has an interest. They’re saying, ‘well main roads belong to us; is this Authority going to take away our roads?’ RADA is still saying, ‘farm roads are supposed to be run by RADA’. So we need to have a significant amount of consultation to determine how the One Road Authority works,” the Minister disclosed.

Meanwhile, Mr. Morgan has suggested that the Government will need to spend approximately $20 billion per annum over the next 15 years to address road rehabilitation works.

“Over the years as the economy gets better, the Government will have to invest more money into road infrastructure; and it’s a simple reason – we have disinvested or not invested in our road infrastructure for many decades, not because we don’t want to but because, in many cases, we couldn’t because our economy did not give us the ability,” he indicated.