Acting Prime Minister Santia Bradshaw has outlined an extensive programme to tackle several priority road issues across the island.
Bradshaw, the Minister of Public Works, Transport, and Water Resources, revealed multiple ongoing and upcoming projects designed to improve the country’s infrastructure. A number of these initiatives, including the Thornbury Hill project, fall under the CAF (Development Bank of Latin America) Road Rehabilitation Programme.
And the government is to introduce roller-compacted concrete roads soon, targeting such areas as Millionaire Road in St Peter and Gibbons Terrace, Christ Church, she has announced.
“These are two of the roads that will be prioritised under that programme, along with others like Shop Hill to Content and Cane Garden to Bridgefield, which have been subject to numerous complaints,” said Bradshaw in an interview with Barbados TODAY.
However, she noted that some challenges have arisen owing to the necessary collaboration with the Barbados Water Authority (BWA) to replace ageing water mains concurrently with road reconstruction.
Delays in the replacement of these mains, a crucial prerequisite before road building, have proven to be a significant hurdle, Bradshaw added.
“Recently, we engaged with the Barbados Water Authority because a lot of the work that we are doing requires us to also change out the water mains. We don’t have enough teams at the BWA to do the changing out of the mains fast enough but with the engagement with the BWA and the Barbados Workers’ Unions, and our preliminary discussions with them, we have agreed that we will have to look at outsourcing some of the work over the coming months if we are to complete the very ambitious works programme that we have.
“That has been a major delay for the roads programmes – ensuring that we change out the mains, because essentially the roads cannot be built until the BWA goes in and does the mains replacement. Once that is completed, they can start to do a lot of the work that they have been contracted to do,” the minister explained.
Replacing these century-old mains has posed additional difficulties, resulting in unforeseen breaks during the replacement process. Weather conditions have also shifted project timelines, with variable weather conditions affecting the Ministry of Transport’s ability to execute repairs and asphalt laying.
Despite these obstacles, Bradshaw said her ministry has planned an aggressive rollout of CAF programmes in the upcoming months, including the Scotland District project scheduled to start in January.
“We’ve completed two sample roads under the Scotland District Initiative – King Street and White Hill. Phase one of White Hill is nearly finished, with three phases remaining. Emergency work is also ongoing due to [recent] rainfall, prioritising bridges and roads in the Scotland District that require urgent attention,” Bradshaw said. She highlighted the focus on design work and the anticipated inconveniences for the public during the road improvement process.
“Of course with that is going to come some inconvenience for the public, but . . . I think there will be a win-win in the end once we can complete the road works,” the transport and works minister said.
Meanwhile, remedial work to the section of Highway 7 from Skeetes Hill to Marine Gardens has been completed. Contractor C.O. Williams Construction Limited undertook the work to mill and pave the 1.3-kilometre section, preventing further deterioration of the road and enhancing the driving experience for motorists.
The stretch was identified as the roughest patch along Highway 7.
Bradshaw told Barbados TODAY that with that set of work completed, the focus will now shift to major infrastructural upgrades and full rehabilitation still due for the entire Highway 7.
“I’m sure that Barbadians are saying this [Highway 7] is very nice but we would like to see some areas also done, and we will look at those over time. [However,] we felt the worst area which we had addressed needed to be done as a matter of urgency while we put in place the design work for the actual project that is to take place with the South Coast Sewage Project,” she said, noting that the project will begin in 2025.
“There will be disruptions again in 2025, but we felt that we needed to do something in the short term to bring some relief.”
A check with the ministry has revealed that the full rehabilitation plan for the South Coast will include upgrades to the road’s design, infrastructure, and utility mains. In the interim, the ministry intends to conduct remedial work in other areas along Highway 7. Once this has been completed, the ministry will seek to move onto the area along Thornbury Hill to the Grantley Adams International Airport. (RG)
