Following two successive hurricane disruptions that pushed back the original completion timeline, Jamaica’s Minister with responsibility for works Robert Morgan has reaffirmed that the transformative Montego Bay Perimeter Road infrastructure initiative remains on schedule to meet its revised September 2026 delivery date, built with cutting-edge climate-resilient engineering to withstand extreme weather. In an exclusive interview with Jamaica Observer on Monday, Morgan laid out the phased completion timeline and updated the public on the project’s current status, funding security and storm preparedness measures. “I’m very confident…We are on time for September. We are working to have West Green Avenue completed by September and then next year Barnett Street, and we’ll have the Long Hill Bypass as well, which is an addition to the Montego Bay Perimeter Road project,” Morgan stated. Currently managed by Jamaica’s National Road Operating and Constructing Company (NROCC) and executed by China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC), the large-scale infrastructure project carries an estimated total price tag of US$354 million. Its full scope includes a 15-kilometer Montego Bay Bypass, an 11-kilometer Long Hill Bypass, comprehensive structural upgrades to two existing urban corridors (Barnett Street and West Green Avenue), and the construction of a new 180-meter bridge spanning the Montego River. As recently as an October 2025 site tour of the project’s Bogue segment, Morgan had announced that work was progressing ahead of schedule and on track to wrap up as early as May 2026. That original updated timeline was derailed by two consecutive extreme weather events: Hurricane Beryl, which made landfall in June 2024, and the more recent Hurricane Melissa, which hit Jamaica on October 28, 2025. Category 5 Hurricane Beryl alone inflicted an estimated US$79 million in damage to uncompleted sections of the project, but Morgan noted that comprehensive insurance coverage has mitigated the majority of the financial impact of the storm damage. “As a matter of fact, we started paving last year and would have been further ahead if it wasn’t for the rains and the hurricane, because we would have started paving last year and started putting up safety barriers and so on,” he explained. When questioned whether ongoing storm risk during the upcoming hurricane season could further derail the revised September 2026 deadline, Morgan highlighted that the project’s design marks a fundamental shift in how major transportation infrastructure is engineered across Jamaica, developed specifically to address growing climate change-driven extreme weather risks. “I think the design and engineering that we used for the perimeter road, and also what we’re using for the Long Hill Bypass, are so much different from what we traditionally use. They have been built for resilience. So a lot of the work that is going on now is pretty much final-leg infrastructure. We have already done the base course and the running course is what is being put on now, finishing some drainage and some hillside protection and so on,” Morgan explained. He added that the robust, climate-adapted design means the project is well-protected against routine rainfall and moderate storm events, even as the region enters peak hurricane season. “So we do not expect general rains to have any significant impact on the road. I mean, if we have a Category 5 again, that might be a different conversation, but we’re hoping and praying that we don’t have one of those events before it’s completed,” the minister said. On the topic of project financing, Morgan confirmed that the Jamaican government maintains a stable fiscal position to see the initiative through to completion. “We have received the allocation for the completion of it in the current budget. There may be some changes that may be made one way or the other as the year goes by, but we are pretty confident in the funding arrangements through the Ministry of Finance,” he said. Under the revised phased completion schedule, the Montego Bay Bypass and West Green Avenue segments are now targeted for completion by September 2026. Upgrades to Barnett Street are projected to be finished by April 2027, with the added Long Hill Bypass segment wrapping up construction the following month, in May 2027. As of the latest update, crews are currently carrying out concrete casting work on the new Barnett Street Bridge, with paving and final infrastructure works ongoing across multiple segments of the project.