Motorists Can Now Access New Alignment Between Grants Pen and Mezgar Gardens In St. Thomas

Motorists traversing the St. Thomas leg of the Southern Coastal Highway Improvement Project (SCHIP) can now access a new alignment on the commute between Grants Pen and Mezgar Gardens in the parish.

Speaking on Wednesday (July 29) at the ribbon-cutting ceremony for a road rehabilitation project in Bath, St. Thomas, National Works Agency (NWA) Communication and Customer Services Manager, Stephen Shaw, said that the new strip of road will help to reduce travel time and discomfort.

“So, gone are the days when you’re going to be meandering between Mezgar Gardens and Grants Pen around all of those turns and curves; we have taken that out. That 1.4 kilometres of road is no longer the road. We have a new alignment which is roughly 760 metres long and that will take you a couple of minutes to travel at legal speed,” Mr. Shaw said.

He outlined that over the next couple of weeks, the motoring public will see additional improvements, “as we set to ensure that persons can get in and out of St. Thomas with a little bit more ease”.

These developments come as the end-of-August deadline for the completion of the Harbour View to Yallahs Bridge section of the SCHIP nears.

Mr. Shaw noted that this section of the project alone costs some US$111 million, while pointing to the billions of dollars being invested in St. Thomas through the SCHIP.

“We know of the challenges in the Yallahs area, and we’re working with the contractors to treat with those. We know of the issues as it relates to the section from Morant Bay to Prospect,” he said.

“I understand the concerns and I see from where persons are coming, but I assure you that every single defect, every single issue that is there that we can see, we have identified all of those things [and they] will be addressed and addressed for the benefit of the people of St Thomas,” Mr. Shaw added.