Portmore mayor urges PM to deliver on promised Municipal Blvd expansion
Published:Wednesday | July 2, 2025 | 12:12 AMRuddy Mathison/Gleaner Writer
Portmore Mayor Leon Thomas is calling on Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness to urgently honour his promise to expand Municipal Boulevard as residents and commuters endure worsening traffic congestion.
Speaking at last Thursday’s ground-breaking ceremony for the four-lane expansion from Naggo Head to the Hellshire main road, Thomas reminded the prime minister of his written commitment to both the Portmore Municipal Corporation and the St Catherine Municipal Corporation. Holness had pledged that work to widen Municipal Boulevard – from the New Oaks Estate development to the Jamaica Urban Transit Company bus depot entrance on Braeton Parkway – would commence by March this year.
“Similarly, the prime minister had given a firm undertaking that the improvement to the entrance from the Mandela Highway into Portmore would be upgraded to ease the flow of traffic,” Thomas noted.
Holness responded that some projects, though planned, must be delayed based on their stage of development.
“It is not that the project is going to be scrapped,” Holness said. “It is just where the project is in its development cycle, so some projects that are more advanced will come first.”
UNSUSTAINABLE TRAFFIC
However, Thomas told The Gleaner that the traffic situation has become unsustainable, especially during peak hours.
“The municipality is closed down on a daily basis during peak hours because people are stuck in traffic for hours and can’t move back or forward,” he explained.
He blamed the problem on the exit and entrance of the new Oak Estate development feeding directly on to Municipal Boulevard despite earlier instructions that access should be provided via Grange Lane. “It’s being done on Municipal Boulevard, burdening an already bad situation,” Thomas said.
While the four-lane expansion of Grange Lane was completed in 2022 at a cost of $600 million, Thomas revealed that the municipal corporation initially withheld titles for the Oak Estate development until the traffic issue was addressed.
“We backtracked on that decision when the prime minister assured us work would start in March. Now it’s July, and the work has been put on hold,” he lamented.
Norman Scott, chairman of the St Catherine Municipal Corporation, warned that he may again withhold the remaining titles and is considering closing the Oak Estate’s access to Municipal Boulevard to force corrective action.
“We will seek a meeting with the NWA and other stakeholders to get clarity before taking this drastic action,” Scott said.
Thomas insists that the promised road upgrade must begin immediately to ease Portmore’s crippling congestion.