Underground Pipes and Cables Stall Bogue Road Project

Work being carried out to add a third lane on the Bogue Road in Montego Bay has been stopped temporarily, because of problems with underground pipes and cables in the designated path of the roadway.
Minister of Water and Housing, Dr. Horace Chang, said it will cost approximately $17 million to relocate the underground water pipes, fuel pipes and cables, which is more than the estimated cost of the original project.
“I have suggested to them that we should go back to improving the road through the cemetery and through the Bogue Industrial Estate as a temporary measure, until we can do the appropriate relocation of the conduits, and get the road in order,” he stated.
The Minister, who is also the North West St. James Member of Parliament, was responding to questions on the ongoing traffic congestion in the city at a forum organized by the Montego Bay Chamber of Commerce and Industry recently, at the Wexford Court hotel.
He said the long-term plan is to dualize the Bogue main road and money has been identified for the project, which will be undertaken in the next financial year.
Turning to congestion problems being experienced on Queen’s Drive at the eastern entrance to the city, Dr. Chang said that approximately $12 million is being spent to remedy that situation. He informed that work on that project is in progress and should be completed soon.
He noted that while a master traffic plan is needed for Montego Bay, a temporary solution to easing congestion is to repair roadways in the informal communities around that city. He argued that plans to change the directional flow of traffic on some roads, will only partially solve the problem.
“There has to be a master plan to take people around Montego Bay and into the productive areas and also to develop the hinterland of Montego Bay, which will then give us a 20-year transportation plan,” he stated.