Fix coming for bad roads on South Coast

Motorists along the South Coast will get some relief when rehabilitation work is done within the next few weeks along some sections of Highway 7.

Acting Prime Minister and Minister of Transport, Works and Water Resources, Santia Bradshaw indicated that an overlay will be done from Tiki Bar to Tapas Restaurant, the area identified as having the worst roughness index along Highway 7. The overlay will involve removing the existing surface and then resurfacing the road with asphalt to help prevent further deterioration. The estimated cost of this work is $300 000.

“The ministry felt it best to do an overlay of certain areas of Highway 7 because there has been a significant amount of inconvenience to Barbadians and visitors alike for the last few years, and being mindful of the timeline, we expect to have the full road works done, which is projected to be March 2025, we felt it was best to do an overlay as there are a number of potholes and patchy areas…. 

“Some of the areas will have a full overlay done, and for other areas, based on the roughness index, we will do the usual pothole patching.” 

She said this first phase should be completed by Independence if all goes well.

Minister Bradshaw did a walk-through of the area on Thursday morning and told members of the media that the full reconstruction of Highway 7, from Rendezvous to Bay Street, is expected to be extremely complex, given the location of the South Coast’s sewage system and the need to upgrade utilities.

During her walk-through, a team from the Prince Road Depot of the MTWW was patching potholes along Highway 7.

Videos of pothole-filled sections of Highway 7 have gone viral on social media in recent days. Residents and motorists have been calling on authorities to fix the roads, with many reporting that their vehicles had been damaged as a result of falling into the potholes.

“The public is very upset with the number of potholes that have developed. There has been a lot of heavy rain recently and it is not only along Highway 7 but across the entire country that has had a lot of deterioration of our roads,” Bradshaw acknowledged.

“The ministry took the opportunity to carry out the pothole patching that was necessary along this road this morning, but the ministry has had a few issues with the suppliers which delayed the depots being able to send out the hot mix. However, the trucks were able to be sent out this morning with cold mix to do the patching, which should hold in those areas and allow us to have a better surface over the next few weeks [provided the rain does not fall],” she added. 

(PR/MTWW/BT)