THE LINK BETWEEN NORTH AND SOUTH - JAMAICA TOURIST ISSUE 12
In the past decade, Jamaica has invested heavily in constructing new road networks, upgrading its airports and developing other infrastructure as it sought to stimulate investment and expand its economy. Initially, the main focus was on the road network serving the island’s tourist industry, the main engine of the economy. Thus the first major road project was the North Coast Highway linking the northern coastal resort towns of Negril, Montego Bay, Ocho Rios and Port Antonio. These areas cater to the vast majority of the over 3 million stopover guests and cruise ship passengers who visit the island each year.
BY DENNIS ERROL MORRISON
Dennis Morrison is a well known Caribbean economist and analyst who fomerly occupied the post of Chief Technical Director in the Cabinet Office (Development Division). Mr. Morrison was also Chairman of the Jamaica Tourist Board and the Airports Authority of Jamaica.
Morrison was central to the creation of Jamaica’s Master Plan for Sustainable Tourism Development, and spearheaded the drive that secured record investment in the sector in recent years. Under his leadership, the Airports Authority of Jamaica undertook major expansion and modernisation programmes at both Norman Manley (Kingston) and Sangster International Airports (Montego Bay). A newspaper columnist, Morrison writes regularly on economic and development issues. His academic training and background are in Applied Economics, Project Analysis and Industrial Engineering from distinguished educational institutions.
Together with the modern airport facilities at Donald Sangster International Airport, Montego Bay, Jamaica’s premier tourism gateway, the new road network has vastly improved comfort in travel. This applies to the journey to and from resort areas and the airport as well as access to visitor attractions in different parts of the island. With these improvements in place, investor interest was ignited resulting in a surge in new resort developments along the north coast. In all some 5,500 hotel rooms were built in the last 6 years and the island’s first real-estate luxury project, The Palmyra Resort & Spa, which offers condominiums and villas is nearing completion.
Jamaica’s other major road project, Highway 2000, which is still under construction, is designed to connect the capital city of Kingston to the south coast and to Mandeville, the main urban area of the central region of the island. It also will connect the north and south coasts by a link from Ocho Rios to Spanish Town. The network linking Kingston to Portmore, Spanish Town, Old Harbour and May Pen, major towns and population centres along the south coast, has been completed.
Work is now underway on the first segment of the Ocho Rios to Spanish Town link which is to be opened in early 2011. This 45 mile, 4-lane north-south link is essential for connecting Jamaica’s two critical economic regions by a modern road network. While the tourist industry is mainly based on the north coast, the major commercial and business centres and the main commercial port, which is developed around the world’s seventh-largest natural harbour, are located in Kingston. And so, imported goods for the tourist industry and for people living on the north coast are generally landed in the Port of Kingston and then trucked across the island’s hilly spine to the north.
The highway will not only remove bottlenecks in the movement of goods but passenger traffic will be greatly enhanced including quick and smooth access for tourists to the full range of cultural heritage and historical attractions on Jamaica’s south coast. Cruise passengers on short stops as well as long stay visitors will be exposed to more diverse experiences allowing for the tourist industry to be more deeply integrated into the rest of the economy.
Spanish Town established in 1534 by the Spanish and named St. Jago de la Vega by them is one of the renowned historic sites that will be more accessible. It is the oldest continuously occupied city in the Western Hemisphere and became the capital of Jamaica when the Spanish abandoned Sevilla la Nueva on the north coast to move to the more hospitable and fertile plains. When the British landed in Jamaica in 1655 they captured the city and it became the base for colonial governors. Landmarks from both the British and Spanish colonial periods have been restored including the Rodney Memorial which dominates what is described as the best Georgian square on earth. The statute of Admiral Lord Rodney was built by planters to honour his victory against the combined Spanish and French fleets in 1782 which thwarted their plans to invade Jamaica. Spanish Town is also home to Jamaica’s National Archives.
The most scenic landscape on the journey from Spanish Town to Ocho Rios is the Bog Walk Gorge named Boca de Agua by the Spanish which means water’s mouth. Running the entire length of the Gorge is the Rio Cobre, Spanish for Copper River, which is a major source of domestic water for Kingston, Spanish Town and other southern population centres. On either side of the river, steep limestone cliffs rise hundreds of feet into the rarefied air and the rocks are covered with lush vegetation. Legend has it that there have been times when a “50 foot wall of water” has roared through the Bog Walk Gorge.
The first road was cut through the Gorge in 1770 using slaves from the sixteen plantations in the Bog Walk area. The first bridge connecting both sides of the gorge was made of wood but was later replaced by cut stone and mortar. This bridge of three spans is supported by two piers and two abutments and semi-circular spheres are its only protection. It is flat and has no side railings and the form of its structure has protected it against the power of water. The “Flat Bridge” as it has been named is one of Jamaica’s oldest bridges and carries only one-way traffic.
After nearly 250 years the roadway through the Bog Walk Gorge and the Flat Bridge are still vital segments of the main road network. Indeed, the Flat Bridge is the linchpin for the movement of traffic from Ocho Rios to the south and centre of the island. The vulnerability of this route to natural disasters makes the development of the north-south link not only desirable but urgent especially in view of the frequency of flooding in recent years.
BY DENNIS ERROL MORRISON
Dennis Morrison is a well known Caribbean economist and analyst who fomerly occupied the post of Chief Technical Director in the Cabinet Office (Development Division). Mr. Morrison was also Chairman of the Jamaica Tourist Board and the Airports Authority of Jamaica.
Morrison was central to the creation of Jamaica’s Master Plan for Sustainable Tourism Development, and spearheaded the drive that secured record investment in the sector in recent years. Under his leadership, the Airports Authority of Jamaica undertook major expansion and modernisation programmes at both Norman Manley (Kingston) and Sangster International Airports (Montego Bay). A newspaper columnist, Morrison writes regularly on economic and development issues. His academic training and background are in Applied Economics, Project Analysis and Industrial Engineering from distinguished educational institutions.
Together with the modern airport facilities at Donald Sangster International Airport, Montego Bay, Jamaica’s premier tourism gateway, the new road network has vastly improved comfort in travel. This applies to the journey to and from resort areas and the airport as well as access to visitor attractions in different parts of the island. With these improvements in place, investor interest was ignited resulting in a surge in new resort developments along the north coast. In all some 5,500 hotel rooms were built in the last 6 years and the island’s first real-estate luxury project, The Palmyra Resort & Spa, which offers condominiums and villas is nearing completion.
Jamaica’s other major road project, Highway 2000, which is still under construction, is designed to connect the capital city of Kingston to the south coast and to Mandeville, the main urban area of the central region of the island. It also will connect the north and south coasts by a link from Ocho Rios to Spanish Town. The network linking Kingston to Portmore, Spanish Town, Old Harbour and May Pen, major towns and population centres along the south coast, has been completed.
Work is now underway on the first segment of the Ocho Rios to Spanish Town link which is to be opened in early 2011. This 45 mile, 4-lane north-south link is essential for connecting Jamaica’s two critical economic regions by a modern road network. While the tourist industry is mainly based on the north coast, the major commercial and business centres and the main commercial port, which is developed around the world’s seventh-largest natural harbour, are located in Kingston. And so, imported goods for the tourist industry and for people living on the north coast are generally landed in the Port of Kingston and then trucked across the island’s hilly spine to the north.
The highway will not only remove bottlenecks in the movement of goods but passenger traffic will be greatly enhanced including quick and smooth access for tourists to the full range of cultural heritage and historical attractions on Jamaica’s south coast. Cruise passengers on short stops as well as long stay visitors will be exposed to more diverse experiences allowing for the tourist industry to be more deeply integrated into the rest of the economy.
Spanish Town established in 1534 by the Spanish and named St. Jago de la Vega by them is one of the renowned historic sites that will be more accessible. It is the oldest continuously occupied city in the Western Hemisphere and became the capital of Jamaica when the Spanish abandoned Sevilla la Nueva on the north coast to move to the more hospitable and fertile plains. When the British landed in Jamaica in 1655 they captured the city and it became the base for colonial governors. Landmarks from both the British and Spanish colonial periods have been restored including the Rodney Memorial which dominates what is described as the best Georgian square on earth. The statute of Admiral Lord Rodney was built by planters to honour his victory against the combined Spanish and French fleets in 1782 which thwarted their plans to invade Jamaica. Spanish Town is also home to Jamaica’s National Archives.
The most scenic landscape on the journey from Spanish Town to Ocho Rios is the Bog Walk Gorge named Boca de Agua by the Spanish which means water’s mouth. Running the entire length of the Gorge is the Rio Cobre, Spanish for Copper River, which is a major source of domestic water for Kingston, Spanish Town and other southern population centres. On either side of the river, steep limestone cliffs rise hundreds of feet into the rarefied air and the rocks are covered with lush vegetation. Legend has it that there have been times when a “50 foot wall of water” has roared through the Bog Walk Gorge.
The first road was cut through the Gorge in 1770 using slaves from the sixteen plantations in the Bog Walk area. The first bridge connecting both sides of the gorge was made of wood but was later replaced by cut stone and mortar. This bridge of three spans is supported by two piers and two abutments and semi-circular spheres are its only protection. It is flat and has no side railings and the form of its structure has protected it against the power of water. The “Flat Bridge” as it has been named is one of Jamaica’s oldest bridges and carries only one-way traffic.
After nearly 250 years the roadway through the Bog Walk Gorge and the Flat Bridge are still vital segments of the main road network. Indeed, the Flat Bridge is the linchpin for the movement of traffic from Ocho Rios to the south and centre of the island. The vulnerability of this route to natural disasters makes the development of the north-south link not only desirable but urgent especially in view of the frequency of flooding in recent years.
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