T1, officially the PJ Patterson Highway, named after former Jamaican prime minister P. J. Patterson, is a tolled controlled-access highway forming the East–West Leg of Highway 2000, Jamaica's ongoing national highway development project. The highway runs for approximately between the Mandela Highway near Kingston and a junction with the A2 near May Pen, in the parish of Clarendon. T1 is one of three component legs of the Highway 2000 project, alongside the Portmore Causeway (T2) and the Edward Seaga Highway (T3).

T1 was built in phases. The first phase, from Mandela Highway to Sandy Bay (33 km), opened in 2003, followed by the upgrade of the Portmore Causeway, completed in June 2006. A further phase extended the highway from Sandy Bay to May Pen, opening on August 15, 2012. A later extension, the May Pen–Williamsfield leg of the Southern Coastal Highway Improvement Project, running further west through Four Paths and past Porus toward Williamsfield, was officially opened on September 14, 2023, by Prime Minister Andrew Holness. Although open to traffic, this section remained toll-free at opening, with tolling initially scheduled to begin at the end of 2023. The highway is a four-to-six-lane controlled-access, tolled motorway with grade-separated interchanges, and is operated by TransJamaican Highway Limited under a concession agreement.

History

The Highway 2000 project, of which T1 forms the initial leg, was conceived in the late 1990s under the administration of Prime Minister P. J. Patterson as one of the government's "Millennium Projects," and Patterson formally launched the project in September 1999. An international tender for the East–West Leg was held in 2001 and won by the French contractor Bouygues Travaux Publics, in partnership with the toll operator Vinci, under a build-own-operate-transfer public–private partnership.https://www.caribank.org/sites/default/files/publication-resources/Jamaica_Highway%202000%20Case%20Study_final.pdf

T1 was built in phases. The first section, from the Mandela Highway to Bushy Park, opened in 2003 as Jamaica's first modern tolled highway, and was extended to Sandy Bay by 2004. The Portmore Causeway (T2) was brought into the concession in July 2006. A further phase, from Sandy Bay to May Pen, was completed on August 15, 2012. A later extension, running further west through Four Paths and past Porus to Williamsfield, opened on September 14, 2023.

The financing arrangement negotiated with Bouygues placed a substantial long-term burden on the Jamaican government: under the concession agreement, toll revenues from the highway go toward repaying the loans taken on by the state-owned National Road Operating and Constructing Company (NROCC) before any proceeds reach the government. In recognition of his role in initiating the project, the East–West Leg was later named the PJ Patterson Highway in his honor.https://radiojamaicanewsonline.com/local/it-is-now-pj-patterson-highway

Route description

T1 begins at an interchange with the Mandela Highway near Central Village, in the parish of Saint Catherine. Heading west, the highway passes the Spanish Town Interchange, providing access to Spanish Town via the A1 (Spanish Town Bypass), before passing Old Harbour and Freetown. West of Freetown, the highway crosses into the parish of Clarendon, passing near Sandy Bay before reaching the outskirts of May Pen.

In May Pen, the highway reaches the Mineral Heights/Halse Hall interchange, on the Alexander Bustamante Highway (A2). West of May Pen, T1 continues through the community of Toll Gate, meeting the Four Path–Toll Gate Road, before entering the parish of Manchester near Porus. T1 terminates at the Melrose Hill Bypass, an interchange with the A2/B5 just north of Porus, from which the A2 continues toward Williamsfield and Mandeville. In total, T1 runs for approximately across the three parishes.

The highway is a four-to-six-lane, tolled, controlled-access motorway with grade-separated interchanges, and numerous toll plazas.

Interchanges The entire route is located in the parishes of Saint Catherine, Clarendon and Manchester.

T1 motorwayParishTownmikmDestinationsNotesManchesterPorus0.000.0A2 – Porus, WilliamsfieldWestern terminus; continues as Melrose Hill BypassClarendonClarendon Park7.2711.7Local street towards Toll Gate town and Clarendon ParkToll at the entrance on local street and toll on the roadMay Pen14.0422.6A2 – May Pen14.5423.4Bridge over the Rio MinhoMineral Heights16.2826.2May Pen -Lionel Town RoadEast-west exit only and east-west entrance onlySandy Bay16.5326.6May Pen toll plazaImmediately after the intersection in Mineral HeightsSaint CatherineFreetown23.2537.4A2 – Old Harbour, Sandy BayPartial connectionOld Harbour25.4841.0South Street – Old Harbour Bay RoadVineyards27.9044.9Vineyards toll plazaSpanish Town35.3056.8Hill Run RoadWestbound exit only, eastbound entry only35.6857.4Access road to Spanish Town Bypass (A1 – A2)Exit ramp toward Spanish Town has a toll; T1 mainline is toll-free at this pointPortmore41.0866.1Entrance from Dyke Road and exit from Lakes Pen RoadCentral Village41.3966.6A1 – Spanish Town, KingstonEastern terminus, continues as the Mandela Highway1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi ·

References