Williamsfield to May Pen Highway Provides Congestion-Free Travel

Users of the May Pen to Williamsfield highway are welcoming the ease of travel from the opening of the thoroughfare.

Constructed at a cost of $188 million, the 23-kilometre four-lane highway, which represents Part A of the Southern Coastal Highway Improvement Project (SCHIP), has cut travel time from May Pen to Williamsfield to approximately 15 minutes and about 45 minutes to an hour for persons commuting from Manchester to Kingston.

Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, who declared the highway open on September 14, 2023, said the days of long travel time and congestion for motorists traversing the corridor are in the past.

“I know that those of you who commute back and forth between Kingston and Mandeville are particularly pleased that the highway is completed and open. In the past, travelling between May Pen and Mandeville, you would experience great challenges. I’m sure all of you here would have unpleasant recollections of moving behind a slow-moving truck on the Porus Road; well, those days are gone,” he noted.

Alesha Miller, a daily commuter from Mandeville to Kingston agrees, telling JIS News that “the highway is heaven-sent. There was too much traffic; it’s a time-consuming drive that has been made easier”.

Bus operator “Wingman” adds that from the perspective of public passenger (PPV) operators, the route is now easier, safer, and with the reduced vehicular traffic and travel time, more trips can be made to and from Kingston, benefiting passengers and operators.

Meanwhile, Manchester resident Jody Levy says the highway has the benefit of bringing people together.

“I’m very excited for the construction of the new leg of the highway. I believe it’s bringing our parishes closer, making travel easy from Manchester to Kingston and vice versa,” she says.

Construction of the highway started in May 2020 and included the upgrading of approximately five kilometres of the existing Melrose Hill Bypass to a four-lane arterial-divided highway.

Several work projects are to follow in the central parishes of Manchester and Clarendon, including the construction of new roadways and development of bridges.

At the opening of the highway, the Prime Minister announced that the commencement of tolling has been pushed back to December 31, 2023.

Tolling is scheduled to start by the end of April.

“Users will be able to drive on the May Pen to Williamsfield leg of the highway without charge until the end of the calendar year,” the Prime Minister noted.

In addition to reduced congestion, the highway project holds the promise of economic and social development for residents of communities in Manchester and Clarendon and surrounding areas.