Highway pressure
Businesses in Wildey, St Michael, are holding strain and hoping roadworks in the area are completed on schedule.
The Ministry of Transport and Works (MTW) has contracted several firms to undertake a Highway Maintenance Programme along the ABC Highway. Currently, work is underway along the Tom Adams Highway near Deighton Griffith Secondary School and in Wildey. The work from JTC Ramsay Circle to BET Hill has been completed.
In Wildey, chief executive officer of the Barbados Medicinal Licensing Authority, Shanika Roberts-Odle, said it was a necessary inconvenience.
“It takes a bit longer to get to work, but we appreciate Government getting the road done. However, we are hopeful it will be over sooner rather than later,” she said.
Stylist at JCK Strands, Tammy Headley, said traffic was nothing new along Wildey, only now it is worse.
“This area generally [is] always busy, though now it’s worse. I will say, however, that [Wednesday] evening was the first time in years it was so light as people took an alternative route before the road closed. The point is the road needs repairing, but I hope it finishes soon,” she said.
A worker at the Well Kids Clinic, who gave her name as Katrina, said the development presented new challenges for them.
“The only thing is that we can’t work as late as before, as we have to get out before the road closes. That can impact some of our patients,” she said.
Katrina said she usually managed to get to work before traffic, but at its peak it backs up all the way to St David’s in Christ Church.
Dhanraj Chase, manager at Taste Crafters, said it had been a big adjustment for them.
“Logistically, it has had a big impact on us, but at the same time, we are happy we can negotiate our way through the gas station [and bypass the construction]. Normally, it would take us ten minutes to get here, now it’s 25 minutes, but in all honesty, we know it is something that has to happen and better will come out of it,” he said.
Chase said they also had to deal with the dust which put extra strain on them to keep the place tidy and also with shutting shop early to accommodate the road closure around 8 p.m.
“We don’t mind all of the inconveniences as long as it only lasts for the two weeks,” he said.
A worker at La Belle Bar, who requested anonymity, said she only had one issue with the work.
“I think there are real roads that need doing, roads that are worse than this one,” she said.
This sentiment was echoed by a vendor near Deighton Griffith, who declined to give her name. She said traffic was always bad there, but questioned why the highway was being repaired when there were “other roads that need doing”.
In an MTW video, minister of Transport and Works Santia Bradshaw pointed out there were several road projects underway, but work on the highway was more visible due to the high traffic count.
“Many of [our roads and highways] require rehabilitation, some are going to require full reconstruction, but in particular our highways require a lot of maintenance. Many of them are over 20 years old, particularly across the ABC Highway and we have started to do some of the upgrades to these roads in terms of maintenance under the IDB Global Roads Programme. This project is really a continuation of that because we recognise that we cannot continue to keep fixing potholes along the highways,” she said.
Bradshaw said it was vital to maintain the ABC Highway as it was an artery to key economic areas and provided flow for emergency vehicles and for commuters in general, including school children. In addition, she said roadworks were underway in the Scotland District as part of the China National Complete Import and Export Corporation Limited (COMPLANT) project and in St Thomas under the Corporación Andina de Fomento (CAF) programme.
In a media statement, it was explained that the Highway Maintenance Programme was being carried out on sections of the ABC Highway and other high-traffic roads to protect the sub-base, improve the surface and extend longevity. The work is being conducted by three contractors – B&R Infrastructure Ltd, C.O. Williams Construction Ltd, and Infra Construction Inc.
The statement reads: “The programme kicked off in late February from the stretch of the Errol Barrow Roundabout from Graeme Hall to Top Rock in Christ Church, which has been completed. Sections of the ABC Highway from JTC Ramsay Circle (Bussa Roundabout) to BET Hill, and from the Edwy Talma Roundabout to the Deighton Griffith Secondary School, were recently completed. Work has since started on the Wildey Triangle and is set to begin [last night], from the D’Arcy Scott Roundabout to the Welches Roundabout in St Michael.
“Work is being done exclusively at night from approximately 8:30 p.m. to 6 a.m. The MTW road marking crew is also working in conjunction with contractors to paint road markings and install reflectors (cat eyes) on the newly paved roads. Under this phase of the Highway Maintenance Programme, the following roads will also be done: the Airport Access Road (Tom Adams Roundabout to the mini roundabout in front of the Grantley Adams International Airport); D’Arcy Scott Roundabout to Welches Roundabout; and Wildey Triangle.”
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