Service road closure – Portmore, St. Catherin

The National Works Agency (NWA) is advising that access to a key service road in the Portmore Municipality will be restricted, effective Tuesday, April 7, 2026. The road is used to access businesses off the Braeton main road.

Manager, Communication and Customer Services at the NWA, Stephen Shaw says that as of Tuesday, access to establishments such as Condulent and the Old Park Plaza Shopping Mall will be restricted. The entrance/exit to the service road, located near to Marine Park Drive will be closed.

The road is being closed permanently in order to facilitate the improvement in the drainage features as part of the multi-billion-dollar Braeton Road project.

Mr. Shaw says as part of the improvements, traffic entering and exiting the service road will do so through a new intersection at Lobster Avenue. This intersection will be signalised. The signalisation will however be done as part of the final phase of works under the project. Road users are being urged to exercise caution in the area as it continues to be a work zone.

In the meantime, Mr. Shaw says that progress is being made with the project, even though there have been setbacks. There are a number of Jamaica Public Service Company (JPSCo) utility poles to be relocated, while some geotechnical challenges are also being addressed. The pole relocation exercise has been delayed, due to the impact of Hurricane Melissa on the island.

Work is now taking place on the relocation of privacy walls and the construction of inlets for drains.

The Braeton Road project is being done at a cost of $2.4 – billion. The scope of the works include the widening of the corridor from two to four lanes, installation pipes for potable water, upgrading of the traffic signal system, installation of new traffic signals and the installation of sidewalks as well as street lighting.