NWA warns of Portmore traffic delays as Municipal Boulevard-Hellshire road works advance

Motorists using Portmore, St. Catherine, should prepare for heavier delays next week as the National Works Agency moves to pave sections of the route between Municipal Boulevard and Hellshire, near Homeway Mall. The work forms part of a wider push to ease the gridlock that regularly affects the Sunshine City.

Stephen Shaw, the NWA's manager of communication, said much of the paving along Greater Portmore Way has already been completed. Crews are now concentrating on significant widening at the junction of Greater Portmore Way and Municipal Boulevard.

The agency is also examining the addition of a turning lane for traffic moving from the PriceSmart area toward Municipal Boulevard. The aim is to keep turning vehicles from holding up motorists who are continuing straight through the intersection. Shaw said the plan includes extra lanes along Municipal Boulevard, with five lanes proposed there and a dedicated left-turn lane for drivers travelling from Municipal Boulevard toward Greater Portmore Way.

However, the schedule for reducing the inconvenience to motorists has been affected by the discovery of what officials believe may be a cave beneath the road in a section being widened. Shaw said the NWA has brought in other government bodies, including the Mines and Geology Department and the Jamaica National Heritage Trust, because the full extent of what lies under that area is not yet known.

After those checks are completed, the Works Agency expects to install drains along the roadway. Motorists are being urged to plan for delays while the paving and widening activities continue.