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Toll
Roads Have Their Place In Jamaican History
Toll roads have been
a part of public transportation throughout the world for centuries and
in Jamaica, toll roads included Hope Road from the Papine Estate to
Matilda’s Corner, while Toll Gate in Clarendon was a fee collection
point for travelers going across the southern plain.
Toll roads in Jamaica
existed in the 18th century as thoroughfares built on private estate
land by the owners as a way to improve the movement of goods to
markets or the wharves. They were usually in better condition than the
public roads and so many persons would prefer to use the estate road
near them to go about their business. The owners facilitated this and
set up a gate through which users had to pay a toll to get through as
a way to pay for maintaining the road.
Internationally,
travel by rail that started in the late 1830s stalled the importance
of toll roads for mass transit, and Jamaica was no exception, but the
popularity of the motor car in the 20th century made tolls a way to
build and maintain long haul roads without burdening the taxpayer. In
the USA, toll roads are called turnpikes and can be found throughout
the country. Autoroutes in France link popular resort towns and
cities. The Linha Amarela in Brazil connects downtown Rio de Janiero
through tunnels to its suburbs. Witbank in South Africa’s commercial
heartland is connected to the important Port Maputo in Mozambique by a
toll road, while the UK is expected to introduce a modern toll road
soon to ease congestion on the M6 Motorway.
In 2002, the Toll
Roads Act was passed in Jamaica, and Highway 2000 was launched as a
public-private partnership between the Government of Jamaica and the
developer TransJamaican Highway. This month, phase 1a of Highway 2000,
commonly known as the Old Harbour bypass and stretching for some 13 km
from Bushy Park to Sandy Bay will open to the public. This phase of
the Highway will also include Jamaica’s first toll plaza at Vineyards,
near Bushy Park.
As Highway 2000 is
intended to make traveling easier and safer, there will be
restrictions on pedestrian use, turning allowances, and entry and exit
points. Pedestrians will not be allowed to cross the highway except by
way of the overhead pedestrian bridges located along the highway.
Similarly, reversing and u-turns are forbidden; if a motorist misses
his exit, he must continue on to the next available exit and take an
alternate route.
When the toll plaza
opens, motorists will have to pay the toll in cash or by a prepaid TAG
card each time a motorist passes through. For cash payments, drivers
should have their money ready. If it is more than the exact amount,
the toll booth operators will make change; if it is less, the car will
not be allowed to go through and the motorist will be directed to use
the reversing lane to turn around and go back. Cashiers will not have
access to money collected as it will be removed from their till by
suction into a vault that will be cleared by a separate crew.
The prepaid TAG card
works like a debit card that can accept as well as release funds. The
driver puts a TAG sticker on the windshield and goes through the toll
plaza in a lane that is reserved only for TAG payments. A machine
scans the TAG sticker and automatically deducts the correct amount and
displays the remaining balance on an electronic monitor. This way is
easier as the driver can move quickly through the toll plaza.
There will be three categories of
rates that are dependent on the size of the vehicle.
Category 1, $50 – for vehicles
less than 5.5m long and less than 2m high, including motor cars, small
sport utility vehicles, and motorcycles
Category 2, $60 — for vehicles
more than 5.5m long or more than 2 m high, including large sport
utility vehicles, some pickup trucks, and minibuses
Category 3, $120 — for
vehicles more than 5.5m long and more than 2m high, which includes
large buses, trucks and trailers
All users, including GOJ licensed
(yellow plate), PPV (red plate), trailers, towing vehicles (wreckers),
as well diplomatic vehicles must pay tolls. Only emergency vehicles
such as paramedic ambulances, the police, the army and fire trucks are
exempt.
The highway does not impose any
restriction on vehicle dimension or laden weight other than what is
applicable under Jamaican law.
Tolls must be paid each time that a
vehicle passes through the toll plaza. The amounts will be advertised
in the press and permanently displayed on signs on the side of the
highway at a distance from the toll plaza that will give motorists
enough time to prepare to pay.
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