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The roads in Jamaica allow people and goods to traverse the island of Jamaica, which is the third largest in the Caribbean. As of 2011, Jamaica has road network 22,121 kilometres in length. [1]
According to the National Works Agency, in 2007 Jamaica had 844 km of arterial roads, 717 km of secondary roads, 3225 km of tertiary roads, 282 km of urban roads, and 10326 km of parochial roads. [2] Using data from 2011, the CIA World Factbook claimed Jamaica has a total road network of 22121 km, 5973 km of which was unpaved and 16148 km of which was paved. [1]
Various pieces of legislation govern the construction, maintenance, classification, and operation of roads in Jamaica. They include the Road Traffic Act, the Toll Road Act, the Parochial Roads Act, and the Main Roads Act. Government agencies with various responsibilities relating to roads in Jamaica include the Island Traffic Authority, the Toll Authority of Jamaica, and the National Works Agency. [3] [4]
Starting in the late 1990s the Jamaican Government (in cooperation with private investors) embarked on the Highway 2000 project to create a system of motorways, the first such access-controlled roads of their kind on the island. The project seeks ultimately to link the two main cities (Kingston and Montego Bay) and the north coast. It is being undertaken as a series of phases: [5]
On 2009-09-15 Jamaica's prime minister, Bruce Golding, announced to Parliament that Highway 2000 was to be renamed in honour of Usain Bolt. [6] Those intentions were sidelined following a news paper article claiming Bolt had rejected the proposal.
1998, the Government of Jamaica and the European Commission signed the financing agreement for the third segment of the Northern Coastal Highway Improvement Project in the amount of €80 million. The Project involves the reconstruction and re-habilitation of approximately 96 km (60 mi) of road between Ocho Rios; St. Ann; and Port Antonio, Portland. Total cost of the project is €105.0 million with the GOJ contributing €25 million for land acquisition and re-settlement as well as the construction of three bridges along the segment.
The entire project consists of approximately 287 km (178 mi) of roadway and is divided into three segments. · Segment 1 – Negril to Montego Bay (approx. 71 km [44 mi]) · Segment 2 – Montego Bay to Ocho Rios (approx. 97 km [60 mi]) · Segment 3 – Ocho Rios to Fair Prospect (approx. 119 km [74 mi]) [7]
Approval has been given by Cabinet for the execution of a contract between the government and China Harbour Engineering Company Ltd. for the design, improvement and construction of Sections 1A and 1B of the Southern Coastal Highway Improvement Project. This will involve work from Harbour View to Morant Bay as part of the overall Segment from Harbour View to Port Antonio.
The existing main road along this southern coastal section of the island has been in generally poor condition. The alignment, surface condition, drainage are in need of major improvement.
The Harbour View to Morant Bay section covers some 43 km (27 mi), with Morant Bay to Port Antonio approximately 65 km (40 mi). The work on the Harbour View to Morant Bay leg is estimated to cost approximately US$385 million.
Among the improvement works will be a re alignment of the White Horses Bypass to the south of the town along the sea coast rather than to the north and modification of the Morant Bay Bypass at the western and eastern ends.
A section of the highway will also be constructed to accommodate four lanes and major structures are to be built including 16 bridges, one flyover, and one subway, along with new pipe and box culverts.
Financing for the project is through the China Exim Bank. It is being accommodated in the 5-year Public Sector Investment Programmes covering the period from 2016 to 2021. [8]
| Designation | From | To | Via | Comments | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 T1 | Kingston | Montego Bay (Future) | Portmore - Spanish Town - Old Harbour - May Pen - Toll Gate - Williamsfield | East-West leg of Highway 2000 | 84 kilometres (52 mi) |
 T2 | Kingston | Portmore | Port Kingston Causeway | Also known as Portmore Causeway | 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) |
 T3 | Caymanas | Saint Ann's Bay | Spanish Town - Angels - Linstead - Moneague - Ocho Rios | North-South leg of Highway 2000 | 67 kilometres (42 mi) |
| Designation | From | To | Via | Comments | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 A1 | Kingston | Lucea | Spanish Town - Bog Walk - Linstead - Ewarton - Moneague - Claremont - Saint Ann's Bay - Falmouth - Montego Bay | 243 kilometres (151 mi) | |
 A2 | Spanish Town | Savanna-la-Mar | Old Harbour - May Pen - Porus - Mandeville - Santa Cruz - Black River | 154 kilometres (96 mi) | |
 A3 | Kingston | Saint Ann's Bay | Castleton - A4 junction west of Annotto Bay - Port Maria - Oracabessa - Ocho Rios | 101 kilometres (63 mi) | |
 A4 | Kingston | A3 junction west of Annotto Bay | Morant Bay - Port Morant - Golden Grove - Hectors River - Manchioneal - Boston Bay - Port Antonio - Hope Bay - Buff Bay | Eastern Jamaica coast road. | 168 kilometres (104 mi) |
| Designation | From | To | Via | Comments | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| B1 | Cross Roads | Buff Bay | Newcastle | ||
| B2 | Bog Walk | White Hall | Riversdale - Troja - Richmond - Highgate | 37 kilometres (23 mi) [9] | |
| B3 | May Pen | Runaway Bay | 85 kilometres (53 mi) [9] | ||
| B4 | Trout Hall | Walderston | Frankfield | 26 kilometres (16 mi) [9] | |
| B5 | Shooters Hill | Jackson Town | Christiana - Albert Town | 71 kilometres (44 mi) [9] | |
| B6 | Montpelier | Shooters Hill | Balaclava - Maggotty - Y.S. River | 87 kilometres (54 mi) [9] | |
| B7 | Shettlewood | Baptist (A2 N of Black River) | Happy Grove - Newmarket - Struie | 39 kilometres (24 mi) [9] | |
| B8 | Ferris Cross (A2 E of Savanna-la-Mar) | Reading (A1 W of Montego Bay) | Whithorn - Shettlewood - Montpelier | 35 kilometres (22 mi) [9] | |
| B9 | Lucea | Savanna-la-Mar | Frome | 32 kilometres (20 mi) [9] | |
| B10 | Oxford | Duncans | Clark's Town | ||
| B11 | Falmouth | Green Park (old A1 3.2 kilometres (2 mi) north of Claremont) | Clark's Town - Jackson Town - Stewart Town - Brown's Town | 68 kilometres (42 mi) [10] | |
| B12 | Freetown (A2 E of May Pen) | Toll Gate (A2 W of May Pen) | Lionel Town | Forms a rough semi circle S of May Pen, predominantly near the coast. | |
| B13 | Linstead | Oracabessa | Guy's Hill - Gayle | ||
| B15 [11] | Montego Bay | Falmouth | Adelphi - Wakefield - Martha Brae |
Transport in Jamaica consists of roadways, railways, ship and air transport, with roadways forming the backbone of the island's internal transport system.
Highway 19 is the main north–south thoroughfare on Vancouver Island from Nanaimo to Port Hardy. It forms part of the Island Highway along with Highway 1 and Highway 19A. A highway has existed on the Island since about 1912. Originally gravel and rough, the highway was an essential link together with the Esquimalt & Nanaimo Railway. The paved highway first opened in 1953, replacing a stretch of Highway 1 between Nanaimo and Campbell River, finally being extended to the northern tip of the island in the late 1970s. The total length of the highway is 403 kilometres (250 mi).
Montego Bay is the capital of the parish of St. James in Jamaica. The city is the fourth-largest urban area in the country by population, after Kingston, Spanish Town, and Portmore, all of which form the Greater Kingston Metropolitan Area, home to over half a million people. As a result, Montego Bay is the second-largest anglophone city in the Caribbean, after Kingston.
Route 1 is a highway in the southern part of the Canadian province of New Brunswick. It begins west of the Canada–United States border at St. Stephen, and runs east for 239.11 kilometres (148.58 mi) to Route 2 at River Glade.
Saint Ann is the largest parish in Jamaica. It is situated on the north coast of the island, in the county of Middlesex, roughly halfway between the eastern and western ends of the island. It is often called "the Garden Parish of Jamaica" on account of its natural floral beauty. Its capital is Saint Ann's Bay. Saint Ann comprises New Seville, the first Spanish settlement in Jamaica.
Ocho Rios is a town in the parish of Saint Ann on the north coast of Jamaica, and is more widely referred to as Ochi by locals. Beginning as a sleepy fishing village, Ocho Rios has seen explosive growth in recent decades to become a popular tourist destination featuring duty-free shopping, a cruise-ship terminal, world-renowned tourist attractions and several beaches and acclaimed resorts. In addition to being a port of call for cruise ships, Ocho Rios also hosts cargo ships at the Reynolds Pier for the exportation of sugar, limestone, and in the past, bauxite. The estimated population of the town in 2011 was 16,671, which is nearly 10% of the total population of St. Ann. The town is served by both Sangster International Airport and Ian Fleming International Airport. Scuba diving and other water sports are offered in the town's vicinity.
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King's Highway 17, more commonly known as Highway 17, is a provincially maintained highway and the primary route of the Trans-Canada Highway through the Canadian province of Ontario. It begins at the Manitoba boundary, 50 km (31 mi) west of Kenora, and the main section ends where Highway 417 begins just west of Arnprior. A small disconnected signed section of the highway still remains within the Ottawa Region between County Road 29 and Grants Side Road. This makes it Ontario's longest highway.
Saint Catherine is a parish in the south east of Jamaica. It is located in the county of Middlesex, and is one of the island's largest and most economically valued parishes because of its many resources. It includes the first capital of Jamaica, Spanish Town, originally known as San Jago de la Vega or Santiago de la Vega.
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St. James is a suburban parish, located on the north-west end of the island of Jamaica in the county of Cornwall. Its capital is Montego Bay. Montego Bay was officially named the second city of Jamaica, behind Kingston, in 1981, although Montego Bay became a city in 1980 through an act of the Jamaican Parliament. The parish is the birthplace of the Right Excellent Samuel Sharpe, one of Jamaica's seven National Heroes.
The railways of Jamaica were constructed from 1845, making it the second British colony to receive a railway system, following Canada in 1836 with the Champlain and St Lawrence Railroad. Construction started only twenty years after the Stockton & Darlington Railway commenced operations in the United Kingdom.
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The Kingston to Montego Bay railway was the main railway in Jamaica, which from 1845 to 1992 linked the capital Kingston with the second city Montego Bay, passing en route most of the major towns.
The Spanish Town to Ewarton railway was a railway in Jamaica, built to serve the citrus growing regions in the interior of Saint Catherine, particularly those around the towns of Bog Walk, Linstead and Ewarton. It operated from 1885 to 1992.
Montego Bay railway station opened in 1894 and closed in 1992 when all passenger services in Jamaica abruptly ceased. It served the Kingston to Montego Bay main line with branches from May pen to Frankfield, Spanish Town to Ewarton, Bog Walk to Port Antonio and Linstead to New Works. It was 112.75 miles (181.45 km) from the Kingston terminus.
Highway 2000 is a highway system in Jamaica connecting Kingston, with Ocho Rios and a planned connection to Montego Bay, passing through the parishes of St. Catherine, Saint Ann, Clarendon and proposed sections through St. James, Saint Elizabeth, Westmoreland, Hanover. The highway is operated by the Jamaica Infrastructure Operators and developed by Trans-Jamaica Highway Limited through contractors CHEC and Bouygues Construction.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Jamaica refers to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its members in Jamaica. In 1980, there were 85 members in Jamaica. In 2021, there were 6,718 members in 18 congregations.
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