Ground Broken for $2.4b Naggo Head to Braeton Road Dualisation Project in St Catherine

Prime Minister, Dr. the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, broke ground on Wednesday (June 25) for the $2.4-billion dualisation of the Naggo Head to Braeton Road in Portmore, St. Catherine.

The 16-month project is being implemented under the Government’s Capital Expenditure (CAPEX) Programme.

The expansion works will span approximately three kilometres, running from Naggo Head to the intersection of Braeton Road and Hellshire Main Road, continuing along Hellshire Main Road to South East Street within the municipality.

The thoroughfare will be upgraded to a four-lane roadway with a raised median for safety, sidewalks, and traffic signals installed at key intersections to enhance traffic flow.

The project will also include drainage infrastructure – such as sewers – and the installation of ducts for fibre-optic cables under the National Broadband Initiative.

Speaking at Wednesday’s (June 25) ground-breaking ceremony on Braeton Road, Prime Minister, Dr. the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, emphasised that the project is essential to easing traffic congestion amid Portmore’s rapid growth in housing and commercial activities.

“Portmore is becoming, largely, a kind of self-generating and self-contained economic entity. Though it is still dormitory in nature… there’s a growing BPO (business process outsourcing), growing commercial and retail [activities] and we’re seeing elements of manufacturing and a growing entertainment sector as well. So, Portmore is developing its own natural economic energy, and once that happens you’re going to find local traffic,” he stated.

Dr. Holness explained that traffic congestion caused by individuals using Portmore as a bypass route will be eased as additional infrastructure works, such as the proposed new entrance from Mandela Highway into the municipality, get under way.

“So, what we’re going to contend with would be locally generated traffic; and so, what we are doing is building out those critical corridors. We have done Grange Lane and we are now doing this (Naggo Head/Braeton Road/Hellshire Main Road corridor),” the Prime Minister said.

Mayor of Portmore, Councillor Leon Thomas, welcomed the project, noting that residents, particularly those in South East St. Catherine, have endured years of worsening traffic congestion, exacerbated by ongoing development across the municipality.

“[It is] really a severe impact, and with this project continuing, we should see significant improvement along the corridor of the Naggo Head to Hellshire Main Road,” he said.

Meanwhile, Member of Parliament for St. Catherine Southern, Fitz Jackson, assured that coordination between stakeholder groups and contractors will be actively facilitated to ensure that residents’ daily routines and livelihoods are minimally disrupted by the ongoing roadworks.

The project is being carried out by contractors S&G Road Surfacing Materials Limited.