$42 million road opens new path to Strawberry Fields, St Mary

Residents, farmers, business operators and tourists are expected to benefit from a newly rehabilitated roadway in St Mary, as Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett officially opened a $42.7-million stretch connecting Robins Bay and Strawberry Fields.

The approximately 1.6-kilometre road, completed through the Tourism Enhancement Fund's Roads to Attractions Programme, is being positioned as more than just a smoother ride. The project is expected to improve access to communities and businesses while helping to push Jamaica's tourism footprint further east.

“The value of this project is not measured only in metres of asphalt or millions of dollars,” Bartlett said at Wednesday's opening 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 project, carried out by Wadmar Construction Limited, included earthworks, drainage improvements and asphaltic concrete works.

Bartlett said the Robins Bay to Strawberry Fields roadway forms part of a wider push to connect more communities to Jamaica's tourism industry. He pointed to the recently opened $27.5-million Fontabelle to Geddes Town Road, also in St Mary, as another step in expanding the tourism corridor towards Portland.

“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.

The improved road is also expected to directly benefit tourism businesses such as Strawberry Fields Together, while creating easier access for the guides, cooks, drivers and craft producers who depend on visitors.

But Bartlett stressed that while the Government can improve the infrastructure, communities must also play their part in building attractions and experiences.

“The government can deliver the road; the community delivers the experience,” he said.

The road is not only being pitched as a tourism boost. According to Bartlett, residents travelling to work, children heading to school and farmers moving produce are also expected to benefit.

Deputy Mayor of Port Maria, Councillor Paul Fyffe, said residents had long complained about the condition of the roadway, which he said had hampered business activity and development in the area.

The $42.7-million investment also included drainage works, which Bartlett described as critical to ensuring the road can withstand heavy rainfall and avoid becoming another recurring repair project.

“This road is not only for tourism,” Bartlett said. “It serves residents travelling to work, children going to school, farmers moving produce, and families travelling between communities.”