Jamaica Highway 2000 Case Study Figure 11 Timetable of Phases One and Two
Key: Milestones
Construction
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been done by the OCG on the North-South Link. It is not known whether one is in process or planned.
5.8 Conclusion: Is Highway 2000 a “good” project?
Certainly from the point of view of its users the Highway has proven its utility. About 65,000 drivers per day, upwards of a quarter of a million people, would find it intolerable to return to the congestion and frustration that characterised their daily commute prior to the toll road. By reducing travel times, the Highway has made its users more productive, both in their work and personal lives.
Traffic volumes on the North-South Link are yet to take off, but this does not seem to worry its owners unduly. CHEC is not passively waiting for traffic to grow on their portion of the Highway, but intend to drive traffic growth with the secondary projects currently being developed.
Although the Government ended up investing more than anticipated, and for a longer payback period, Highway 2000 still generated USD825 million in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). This raised Jamaica’s profile as an investment destination, with the capacity to implement large construction projects of this nature.
Both phases of the Highway had minimal overruns in time and budget; almost unheard of on previous large road projects in Jamaica. In the thirteen years that the East-West Highway has been operational, motorists have benefitted from higher standards of maintenance than on public roads. Because users pay for the service, they are quick to call the Toll Authority, to report even small potholes in the road surface.
Perhaps most importantly, Highway 2000 spurred new economic activity outside of the