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Toll Use To Date Encouraging
 Jamaica Infrastructure Operator Ltd,
the company responsible for
operating and managing the toll
road, has confirmed that the daily
number of paying trips to date on
Highway 2000 continues to increase.
Their toll logs have recorded the
following daily averages:
For
September - 10,187
For October - 10,129
For November - 10,609
Notably, the number of paying trips
for the month of November reflects a
4% increase over the figures for
September.
Although Class 1 vehicles (motor
cars and small SUV’s) continue to
account for 90 % of the total trips
made, the number of passages of
Class 3 vehicles (large trucks and
trailers) has increased by almost 3%
since the inception of Jamaica’s
first toll road.
When
contacted, Chairman of National Road
Operating & Constructing Company (NROCC),
Kingsley Thomas stated that he was
not surprised by these figures as he
had the utmost confidence in the
project’s traffic advisors, Steer
Davis Gleave, who gave the assurance
that Highway 2000 was indeed a
viable project not withstanding the
fact that they were conservative in
their estimates of projected average
daily usage. He further added that
on Sunday, November 30 the highest
daily traffic flow on this segment
of the highway was recorded with
over 12,000 paying trips.
Dr
Wayne Reid, Managing Director of
NROCC while maintaining his
satisfaction with the usage levels
of the highway felt that these
numbers were set to increase once
Segment 2 of Highway 2000 is
completed. Segment 2, which
comprises the Kingston to Bushy Park
corridor, is due for completion in
October 2004. Work is substantially
advanced on this segment.
Motorists will then be able to
access Highway 2000 from the
Portmore environs as well as the
Mandela Highway. Dr Reid commented
that he was encouraged by the fact
that at various community meetings,
citizens seemed anxious to see
Segment 2 completed. This would
provide motorists with the benefit
of even greater time savings.
The
Developer of Highway 2000,
TransJamaican Highway Limited (TJH)
is also very pleased with the
results to date. Mr Trevor Jackson,
Managing Director of TJH has
indicated that they are in fact
assessing the possibility of
installing two additional toll
booths at the Vineyards Toll Plaza
to provide motorists with a greater
level of service on the toll road.
In addition, another pedestrian
bridge will be constructed in 2004
as NROCC addresses the request from
some citizens for an easier access
point to cross the highway.
Segment 1 of Highway 2000 was
officially opened on October 9, 2003
by Prime Minister P.J. Patterson.
For Further Information:
Stacy Gillings, Development Bank of Jamaica, Tel 929-4010-17.
December 2003
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