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First Week Usage Of Highway Surpasses Expectations
 Over 70,000 paying
vehicle passages
have been recorded
in the first week’s
operation of the
Vineyards Toll Plaza
located on Segment 1
of Highway 2000,
which covers some 13
km from Bushy Park
to Sandy Bay.
In the week
beginning Thursday,
September 25, when
toll payments
officially began, to
Wednesday, October
1, a total of 70,787
paying vehicle
passages were
recorded. The
highest number of
paying passages for
any one day during
the period occurred
on Saturday,
September 27 when
11,272 vehicles paid
the tolls of $50 for
category 1 vehicles,
$60 for category 2
vehicles and $120
for category 3
vehicles.
Officials of both
Jamaican
Infrastructure
Operators Limited (JIO),
operators of Highway
2000, and the
National Road
Operating and
Constructing Company
Limited (NROCC) have
expressed
satisfaction with
the level of usage
which is in excess
of the initially
projected average
daily total of 9600
paying vehicles for
this segment. The
current daily
average of paying
vehicle passages
based on the first
week’s operations is
10,100, an increase
of approximately 5%
over the
projections.
These projections
were based on
several traffic and
revenue forecasts
which were developed
by Steer Davies
Gleave, one of the
world’s leading
firms in this area.
Steer Davies Gleave
used measures such
as extensive traffic
counts and origin
and destination
(O&D) surveys to
project the in-scope
traffic,
representing the
potential usage of
the toll road
without charges.
Their analysis then
applied a traffic
capture model to
forecast actual
demand for the toll
road and the
resultant revenues
to be achieved.
Various
internationally
accepted techniques
were used to predict
the level of traffic
capture for the
tolled Highway
including the
“logit” model
formulation, widely
used throughout the
world. The
application of this
traffic capture
model relies on the
assessment of both
the benefits of the
toll road in terms
of time saving,
safety, comfort and
reliability and the
value that
travellers place on
each of these
parameters.
Commenting on the
performance of
Highway 2000
operations to date,
Chairman of NROCC,
The Hon. Kingsley
Thomas said, “We are
very pleased with
these results. They
indicate that
Jamaican motorists
are willing to pay
for travelling on a
superior road which
offers many
advantages. We are
very optimistic that
the usage on the
other sections of
the Highway will be
even more robust,
ensuring the
viability of
Jamaica’s first
modern toll road.”
Mr. Thomas further
commented that the
contractors of
Highway 2000,
Bouygues TP, should
be commended for
completing Segment 1
substantially on
time and within
budget, a fact that
underscores the
advantages of
private sector
involvement in the
provision of
infrastructure.
Mr. Philippe
Lassauce, General
Manager of JIO, said
that based on his
experience working
with Autoroutes du
Sud de La France, a
leading toll
operator in Europe,
the initial results
of motorist usage of
Segment 1 are very
encouraging. Dr.
Wayne Reid, Managing
Director of NROCC,
while also stating
his satisfaction
with the usage of
the Highway 2000 by
motorists,
reiterated the need
for the various laws
and regulations
regarding the use of
the road and the
toll plaza to be
strictly adhered to.
In particular, he
cited the case of
pedestrians crossing
the Highway which is
not only illegal but
also extremely
dangerous.
Segment 1 of Highway
2000 will be
officially opened by
the Most Hon. P.J.
Patterson, ON, PC,
QC, MP, Prime
Minister of Jamaica
on Thursday, October
9.
For Further Information:
Stacy Gillings, Development Bank of Jamaica, Tel 929-4010-17
October 2003
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