Traffic congestion in Montego Bay has been a longstanding issue as there is essentially one main thoroughfare connecting the east to the west of the city. Apart from the typical morning and evening peak hour traffic, the city often becomes gridlocked during times of heavy rainfall due to flooding, and on cruise ship days or other major activities or incidents, and productivity is lost because of the lengthy delays caused by traffic.  The National Road Operating and Constructing Company Limited (NROCC), working through the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation (MEGJC), has acquired funding for the development of an alternative route around the central business district (CBD) in Montego Bay to reduce congestion in the city and to spur economic benefit. 

The following four components are included in the proposed project:

• Montego Bay Perimeter Road – approximately 15.4 km, starting at Alice Eldemire Drive and Howard Cooke Highway with the endpoint at the Intersection with the A1 North Coast Highway at Ironshore. It traverses the communities of Coral Gardens, Salt Spring, Montego Hill, Porto Bello, John’s Hall, Bogue, Catherine Mount, Irwin, Fairfield and Norwood.
• Long Hill Bypass – encompasses the construction of approximately 10.5 kilometres of 2-lane, rural arterial highway leading from Montpelier intersection of B8 Road and B6 Road to Temple Gallery Road. The implementation of this road section will essentially connect the Montego Bay Perimeter Road with the western end of the Phase 2B corridor of the East-West Highway.  Bogue, Fairfield, Anchovy, Mount Carey and Bickersteth are the communities in which this alignment is located.
• Barnett Street Upgrade – located in Mount Salem, West Green and Catherine Mount (Figure 1 2). It involves is the dualization of 1.06 km of the existing two-lane road section from the intersection of West Green and Fairfield road in a northerly direction and ending at Cottage road. The proposed works will involve the construction of an additional two-lane bridge over the Montego Bay River in the vicinity of the West gate Shopping Centre.
• West Green Avenue Upgrade – located in Bogue and is the dualization of the 0.82 km existing link road between Howard Cooke Boulevard and the Bogue Road at the Fairfield Road intersection.