$42.7m road upgrade to support tourism expansion

A $42.7-million road rehabilitation project in St Mary was officially opened on Wednesday as the Government pushes to expand tourism beyond Jamaica’s traditional resort hubs.

The upgraded 1.6-kilometre roadway linking Robin’s Bay and Strawberry Fields was completed under the Tourism Enhancement Fund’s (TEF) Roads to Attractions Programme and is expected to support community tourism and improve access to the area.

Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett said the project follows the recent completion of the $27.5-million Fontabelle-to-Geddes Town Road and forms part of a strategy to connect more communities to the tourism economy.

“What we are doing now, deliberately and in sequence, is extending that corridor eastward, through St Mary and on toward Portland, so that the strength of Ocho Rios becomes the gateway to a much wider tourism footprint rather than its outer boundary,” he said.

Bartlett argued that the benefits extend beyond tourism.

“The value of this project is not measured only in metres of asphalt or millions of dollars,” he told the ribbon-cutting ceremony. “It is measured in what the rehabilitated road makes possible: easier movement for residents, improved access for visitors, and a stronger connection between community enterprise and national growth.”

The rehabilitation works, carried out by Wadmar Construction Limited, included site clearance, earthworks, drainage cleaning, drainage construction, and asphaltic concrete paving.

TEF Executive Director Dr Carey Wallace said the agency sees strong potential for community tourism in the area and views the road as a catalyst for future growth.

“We see the vast potential in this area for tourism, community tourism in particular, and, therefore, we feel this is our investment in the community,” Wallace said, anticipating “that partnership, two hands clapping, as we grow the community of Robin’s Bay into an outstanding addition to the gems that Jamaica offers as a tourism destination.”

Bartlett said businesses such as Strawberry Fields Together stand to benefit from improved access, along with guides, cooks, drivers, and craft producers who rely on visitor spending. But he said infrastructure alone would not guarantee success.

“It is not the big investment that the visitor consumes. It is the little things that you do in your own areas,” he said. “The Government can deliver the road. The community delivers the experience.”

Deputy Mayor of Port Maria Councillor Paul Fyffe said residents had long lobbied for improvements, arguing that the deteriorated roadway was constraining business activity.

“This road improvement has enhanced the lives and the livelihoods of many in this area,” he said.

Bartlett also highlighted the project’s drainage works, describing them as critical to ensuring that the road can withstand increasingly severe weather events.

“Under Tourism 3.0, climate-resilient infrastructure is a stated national priority because we have learnt at great cost that a road which cannot survive the rain is not an investment but a recurring expense,” he said. “What we have built here is designed to hold.”

The minister noted that the upgraded road serves not only visitors but also residents commuting to work, children travelling to school, farmers transporting produce, and families moving between communities.