St Mary ‘attractions’ road gets upgrade

Road access between Robin’s Bay and Strawberry Fields in St Mary has been significantly improved following the completion of a $42.7 million rehabilitation project undertaken by the Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF).

Implemented under the TEF’s ‘Road to Attractions’ initiative, the project involved site clearance, earthworks, drainage cleaning and construction, and asphaltic concrete paving along the 1.6-kilometre roadway. Speaking during the recent ribbon-cutting ceremony in Robin’s Bay, Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett said the rehabilitated road will facilitate easier movement for residents, improve access for visitors, and foster “a stronger connection between community enterprise and national growth”.

He noted that the road project is not an isolated undertaking, but part of a wider plan to expand Jamaica’s tourism product eastward.

“For decades, Jamaica’s tourism economy has been concentrated in a handful of well-established corridors - Ocho Rios, Montego Bay, Negril, Port Antonio…, and Ocho Rios has long stood as the tourism mecca of this area. What we are doing now, deliberately and in sequence, is extending that corridor eastwards through St Mary and on towards Portland, so that the strength of Ocho Rios becomes the gateway to a much wider tourism footprint rather than its outer boundaries,” the minister said.

He added that the rehabilitated road supports tourism communities and attractions that reflect investments by several stakeholders, including Strawberry Fields Together and the Robin’s Bay Hotel.

“By improving access to visitors, goods and supplies, this road helps those investments and the wider community to realise their full potential. A better road means more Jamaicans will come to know the attractions at their own doorstep. Too many of our people have never seen the falls, the coastlines, and the heritage sites within an hour of where they live,” Bartlett stated.

He outlined that the new road will support economic participation by connecting visitors with farmers, fisherfolk, community guides, cooks, artisans and small entrepreneurs. It will also provide residents with greater ease of travel as they go about their daily activities. He encouraged community members to register and become certified tourism operators so they can better position themselves to meet the demand expected from improved road access to the area.