Remedial work to start shortly at Sand Street; Update on plans for Shermans

Remedial work is on the way for Sand Street in St Peter and Shermans in St. Lucy. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport and Works, Santia Bradshaw announced this during a site visit to Six Men’s, St Peter yesterday, Wednesday, January 29, 2025.

The northern fishing community of Six Men’s was severely affected by high waves during the passing of Hurricane Beryl last year, which caused a section of the road to be undermined. However, 95% of the repairs to the road edge have been done.

Sand Street and Shermans also sustained damage to the coastal road edge during the passing of Hurricane Beryl. The Transport Minister disclosed that designs for both areas were approved. “When we move from this location [Six Men’s], which is now 95 percent complete, our next step is onto Sand Street and Shermans, where we have designs already in hand and we should be in a position once the tendering process has taken place to be able to action those works. So, going into the next hurricane season, I think we are safely in a position to say that all the areas that we have had the greatest impact from Hurricane Beryl, we would be able to have [been able to] restored to their original condition with a view to being able to minimize the impact from other systems in the future as well,” she said.

The project’s Supervisory Engineer from Professional Engineering Services Limited (PESL), Darius Cumberbatch disclosed that the Sand Street job would start first. Similar to Six Men’s, an interlocking “Lego” block retaining wall will be constructed to enhance road stability and coastal protection. “The height of the wall is 10 to 12 feet in our initial estimate. It is substantially taller than the one that is in place here [at Six Men’s], as such, the wall will be more

robust. In addition to the Lego block system, we will also have boulders along the wall to reduce the wave energy impact on the Lego block system,” he explained.

However, Mr. Cumberbatch disclosed that the start date for rehabilitation works at Sherman’s depended on contractor availability. “The Sherman’s job will be a sheet pile job, given its proximity to the coast along that area. The depth of the sheet piles we’re looking at is 10 to 15 feet for that design. The design is complete…. Sheet pile work in Barbados, [can] only [be done by] one contractor, so we will have to engage in negotiations/talks with the contractor regarding those works and their capacity to do it in terms of timelines and resources, given the amount of work that has been taking place around the island, post-Hurricane Beryl. There’s a lot of ongoing rehabilitation and revetment sea wall works throughout the island,” he outlined.

The Ministry of Transport and Works (MTW) will continue to provide updates on the road rehabilitation work in these coastal communities. MTW thanks residents, business owners, and road users for their patience and cooperation. (SP/MTW)