The road infrastructure on the Caribbean Island is holding the country back. Until the situation is sorted, what potential it has is wasted
Sitting on the backrow of seats in a Toyota Coaster minibus on a holiday excursion in Jamaica, I was somewhat surprised when I saw Porsche and Audi dealerships side by side on a boulevard as I gazed out of the window, watching the world go by. Given the location though, some might have come to expect it. Kingston is the capital city of the country, so it could hardly be any more conspicuous. But the more I think about the rationale, the more curious I become about such a proposition.
With the infrequent number of premium car brands on Caribbean Islands, this sighting rather caught my attention for a particular reason. You see, what aspiration high profile car companies have of getting a foothold in Jamaica is dashed by the terrible state of the asphalt surfaces. The road infrastructure was constructed decades ago, and it’s become inadequate for the volume of traffic that now uses it. Many roads are too narrow, and have craters in them that make them look more like the surface of the moon.
Much of the road network has deteriorated beyond the point of uncomfortable inconvenience, and to the stage where the road conditions fundamentally compromise traffic flow. The standards of the roads have fallen so far that they have become dangerous for people, hazardous for cars, and inefficient to use. That creates a domino effect which impacts the two biggest sectors of the Jamaican economy – tourism and freight transport – that are dependent on them to function.
As well as that, there's the increasing congestion, accidents and travel costs to mention. It would come as no shock to know that Jamaican roads fail to meet contemporary road standards for quality and safety. It’s evident that the road network needs reconstructing, to not do so creates instability for two essential economic sectors, and curtail the successful industries that many Jamaicans are dependent on. This reason is enough to render me perplexed about why you would purchase a premium car here, because you can’t utilise the performance due to the state of the roads.
Yet Porsche and Audi have dealerships because they can sell the image of their product to wealthier Jamaicans as status symbols. On the road, they can’t effectively use them as practical tools. Yet this restriction doesn’t just apply to premium car brands, it affects more humble and modest vehicles too. The Toyota Coaster minibus is a workhorse for transporting lots of people, but even that has its functionality limited by the road conditions, as I can attest from experience.
The distance from Montego Bay to Jamwest Motorsports and Adventure Park is forty-four miles. With the outdated nature of the roads, this should take one hour and forty-five minutes in travelling time. However, it soon becomes apparent that our journey to the destination will take longer than that. On route we encounter potholes so wide and deep, that we are forced to slow right down, and drive on the other side of the road against oncoming traffic, just to avoid them.
"It’s hard to contemplate just how you can feasibly drive a Porsche or Audi on this sort of surface"
These stringent measures are necessary. If we don’t take such drastic precautions, then there's the real possibility of puncturing tyres, at least. To be honest, I’m surprised we didn’t have one given the relentless onslaught they took. But the more likely outcome would be integral damage to internal components, as well as on the underside of the Toyota Coaster that prevents us from continuing our journey. And that’s before we mention the danger this poses to occupants. The tentative and perilous circumstances are overlooked, but there is risk to life in these sorts of situations.
Whether that involves just one vehicle or multiple, the inadequate standards of Jamaica’s roads compromise safety. In many scenarios, it’s balanced on a knife edge. It's these sorts of conditions that mean our journey takes two and a half hours; forty-five minutes more than was stated. It’s hard to contemplate just how you can feasibly drive a Porsche or Audi on this sort of surface, it’s just not worthwhile, as it’s just not possible to actually use them in the manner they were intended.
And that’s before considering what happens if you do break down due broken componentry or mechanical issues. As much of the road network is single lane carriageway, which is taking an increasing amount of traffic, the queues and delays are horrendous. On our return journey, a lorry had stopped on the other side of road, blocking an entire lane. Attempts to get past were hampered by oncoming traffic from the alternate side. How one vehicle can stop a road from operating, by grinding everything to a standstill because of gridlock is almost inconceivable, as it inhibits a country from functioning.
This is the reality we encounter on the route to and from Jamwest. It’s obvious that the road infrastructure in Jamaica is in urgent need of modernisation. Of course, it must be said that not all of the road network in Jamaica is substandard, there are stretches that are in a good state. The Hwy 2000 is an example of a smoother and faster section where travelling is unimpeded by issues that plague most other roads. But that is the exception to the norm.
It should be said that there have been projects to improve sections of the road network across Jamaica. The Major Infrastructure Development Project has targeted a set number of main roads to restructure, by realigning or widening them. And the Rural Road Rehabilitation Project II was aimed at improving stretches of road to better accommodate tourist traffic and freight transport. But the truth is that both these programmes are relatively piecemeal, the overhaul required is far more fundamental, as both projects haven’t scratched the surface of what’s needed.
In some ways, the situation does remind me of the road network in Britain. The reason why the roads are so crap in the UK is because of ideological underfunding from successive Conservative governments over twelve years. The result is a crumbling road infrastructure that will take a decade and cost £10billion to bring up to self-sustainable and cost-effective standards. The roads in Britain currently have more in common with a third world country than one that has G7 membership.
"The upgrades needed to the road networks appears to require a paradigm shift in construction and maintenance policy"
The intervention to change the road infrastructure in Jamaica has to be more ambitious. Like the UK, the reason why the roads are so shocking in Jamaica is also associated with the lack of sufficient funding to tackle the issue. There is opportunity for the Jamaican administration to create jobs in the National Works Agency (NWA), which would create growth in the economy. This potential would have a ripple effect across multiple industries, to the benefit of the country.
The upgrades needed to the road networks appears to require a paradigm shift in construction and maintenance policy, with clearly defined long-term goals. The NWA are responsible for this, but have not been given the resources to tackle the tasks it confronts. Of course, Jamaica is subjected to more extreme climate-related events, like hurricanes, earthquakes, droughts and rainfall. This aspect along with everyday wear and tear should be factored into the equation of any credible budget.
In Jamaica, the road network consists of over 26,000km, which is expansive. But a challenge that complicates and hinders the road construction and maintenance process is that the roads are predominantly owned by three separate institutions: the NWA owns twenty per cent, the Municipal Council owns fifty eight per cent and the Ministry of Agriculture own six per cent. Road ownership should be brought under one entity to more directly deal with tasks at hand without deflecting blame on who owns what, and on budgetary constraints.
Just looking at the bigger picture puts things into perspective. The NWA estimates that $1trillion is needed to improve the conditions of roads in Jamaica, a colossal figure. There are many options for financing the rebuild of the road network, but it’s clear that significant funds need to come centrally from government. This often proves to be the best value for money, and would take into account various important sustainability considerations, including an efficient use of resources.
Whatever the framework though, until an effective method is devised to remedy the state of Jamaica’s roads in the long-term, they will continue to be substandard, and they will continue to hold the country back. As is so often the case in this unequal and unjust world, one of the worst realisations is of unfulfilled potential. Jamaica continues to endure just that through lack of adequate road infrastructure. It’s a shame, and a waste.
Photo: Callum Alexander – taken through tinted glass, whilst Toyota Coaster was in motion.
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