T2, also known as the Portmore Causeway or Portmore Toll Road, is a short tolled controlled-access highway in Jamaica, forming one of the two corridors of the TransJam Highways network, formerly known as the East–West Leg of Highway 2000. The highway runs for approximately between the Mandela Highway near Kingston and Marcus Garvey Drive in Portmore, crossing Hunts Bay on a six-lane bridge. It is the shortest motorway in the national network, along with T1 and T3.
Originally an ordinary causeway connecting the town of Portmore to Kingston, it was widened into a tolled, dual three-lane carriageway and opened to traffic in June 2006 as part of Phase 1A of Highway 2000, becoming the third toll facility on the network after the Vineyards plaza (2003) and the Spanish Town plaza (2004). The Portmore section includes a six-lane bridge and a 21-lane toll plaza.
History The Portmore Causeway originated as a standalone connector road linking Kingston and Saint Andrew to the newly developing town of Portmore, on reclaimed land across Hunts Bay. As part of Portmore's development, a dyke was built to contain the Rio Cobre and the surrounding lowlands were filled using material dredged from the harbour and quarried from the Port Henderson Hills, allowing the causeway to be constructed across the bay. The causeway opened to traffic on January 21, 1970, built by contractor Moses Matalon, and served for decades as Portmore's principal link to Kingston, functioning as an alternate route to the Mandela Highway. The road supported the rapid growth of Portmore, whose population rose from fewer than 2,000 residents in the late 1960s to about 5,000 by 1970, and which continued expanding through subsequent decades with new housing schemes such as Bridgeport, Passage Fort, and Waterford.
As part of Phase 1A of the Highway 2000 project, the causeway was widened from its original configuration into a tolled, dual three-lane carriageway, and reopened to traffic in June 2006. This made it the third toll facility on the network, following the Vineyards plaza, which opened in 2003, and the Spanish Town plaza, which opened in 2004. The upgraded route, designated T2, together with T1, now forms the TransJam Highways network operated by TransJamaican Highway Limited.
Route description T2 begins at an interchange with Marcus Garvey Drive near Kingston, in the parish of Saint Andrew. Heading west, the highway crosses Hunts Bay on its six-lane bridge into the parish of Saint Catherine. On the western shore, the highway meets Port Henderson Road and Dyke Road before terminating at an interchange with Dawkins Drive in Portmore.
The highway is a tolled, dual three-lane carriageway, with its toll plaza located on the western side, near Portmore.
Interchanges The entire route is located in the parishes of Saint Catherine and Saint Andrew. T2 motorwayParishTownmikmDestinationsNotesSaint CatherinePortmore0.000.0Dawkins DriveWestern terminus0.120.2Dyke RoadHellshire / Port Henderson0.621.0Port Henderson RoadPort Henderson0.991.6Portmore toll plaza2.053.3Bridge near Hunts BayParish line between Saint Catherine and Saint AndrewSaint AndrewKingston4.046.5Marcus Garvey DriveEastern terminus1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
References