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More Motorists Using Toll Road

June 15, 2005

The Full Story

Since the opening of the second segment of Highway 2000 last December, the average daily usage of the highway has moved from 11,000 to 16,000 vehicles.
In addition, average daily traffic through the Vineyards Toll Plaza has been reduced from 11,500 to 10,000 since the opening of the Spanish Town Toll Plaza, which has recorded average daily traffic of 6,300 vehicles.
This is according to the Ministry of Transport and Works Highlights of Agency Performance 2004/2005 document, which was tabled in Parliament yesterday (June 14) by Robert Pickersgill, Minister of Transport and Works. The document stated that the developers, TransJamaica Highway Limited, has corrected structural cracks that were at the Vineyards Toll Plaza, while those that occurred at the original Old Harbour bypass were under investigation. Also, incidents of fence stealing have diminished, however there is need for improvement in littering.
Construction has been completed on 33 of 44 kilometres of roadway under phase 1A of the project, while work on the Portmore Causeway and the Dyke Road is still in progress. Work on the Dyke Road between the Portmore Interchange and the southern end of Waterford has been completed. All of the work on the Portmore Causeway is targeted for completion by the end of June next year.
Meanwhile, National Road Operating and Construction Company Limited (NROCC), working in conjunction with TransJamaica Highway Limited and the National Works Agency, has completed an analysis of the construction and operation of a toll road between Bushy Park and Ocho Rios, which is now being perused.
According to the document, the Toll Authority continues to monitor the operations of the highway and has processed over 80 contact calls for the past year. User satisfaction surveys, which were conducted last year by the operators, is said to have shown that 97 per cent of the motoring public is satisfied with the road.
Turning to the issue of infrastructure development, the document stated that the Authority investigated reports of inadequate signage on the highway and made recommendations to Jamaica Infrastructure Operators, who corrected the problems identified.
The document further reported that over the 12-month period from May 2004 to April 2005, there were 117 accidents on the highway, resulting in one fatality, 23 serious injuries and 20 minor injuries. There has however been a decrease in accidents since February of this year.
An analysis of the accidents over the past year suggests that 47 per cent resulted from bad driving, 34 per cent from mechanical failure and 19 per cent occurred as a result of speeding.
The Jamaica Constabulary Force has however, reported that accidents on the highway are lower than other roads in Jamaica.

Last Updated: June 15, 2005

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