An ambitious $23 million Focus Roads Programme is gathering pace, with the resurfacing of Eagle Hall Main Road now finished despite weather setbacks, officials announced on Tuesday.
During a media briefing on Tuesday night, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport and Works Santia Bradshaw joined engineers and contractors on site to give an update on the progressing roadworks.
“This is one of the 60 roads assessed under the Focus Roads Programme,” confirmed Darius Cumberbatch, project manager at the Ministry of Transport and Works (MTW). “We’re now in the final stretch here at Eagle Hall… paving one half tonight, while milling continues on the other end. We anticipate full completion by mid to late next week, weather permitting.”
Cumberbatch noted that early site walkthroughs and pre-construction coordination with utility companies helped streamline the process.
“We did walkthroughs a couple of times with professional engineering services… so that when we do start, we are aware of any challenges or any areas we expect to encounter service crossings. The contractor milled during the night and reinstated the milled surface during the night as well, so that they ensure that the traffic could pass by morning. I must say that was a very good effort.”
Sean Cox, general manager of Infra Construction, said the Eagle Hall resurfacing project began on June 12 but faced weather-related delays. “We had to turn quite heavily before we mobilised for paving… but the rain fell straight through until Sunday,” he said. “We had to spend Sunday and last night repairing all the damage to the road and now we are here finally getting ready to pave. So that was a delay of about three to four days because of the weather.”
Deputy Prime Minister and
Minister of Transport and Works Santia Bradshaw. (GP)
Minister Bradshaw said the programme is addressing roads that proved too complex for last year’s mill and pave project.
“We expect the remaining roads to be done in the course of the next couple of weeks, weather permitting,” she said. “It’s a $23 million investment, which will also include a number of the highways. We did a highway maintenance programme, which has taken up a budget of about $10 million out of the $23 million.”
Acknowledging the disruption to residents, the transport minister added: “Wherever there is rehabilitation, reconstruction of roads, you’re always going to get dust…. But I’m sure that the residents along this particular stretch, for instance, in Eagle Hall, when they wake up [Wednesday] morning and they realise that they have a newly paved section of this road, they’re going to forget very quickly that they’ve had dust for the last couple of weeks.”
Bradshaw noted that coordination with utilities remains a challenge, but regular meetings have helped keep the project on track. “
We try to troubleshoot as much as we can on a weekly basis to make sure that we can minimise the disruption,” she said.
(SZB)
Roads completed under MTW’s Focus Roads Programme
1. 10th Avenue New Orleans, St Michael
2. 1st Avenue Park Road, Bush Hall, St Michael
3. 2nd Avenue Park Road, Bush Hall, St Michael
4. 3rd Avenue Free Hill, Black Rock, St Michael
5. 3rd Avenue New Orleans, St Michael
6. 3rd Avenue Park Road, Bush Hall, St Michael
7. Chelston Avenue, St Michael
8. Cul-de-Sac off Prospect Road, St James
9. Deighton Road, St Michael
10. Ellis Road, Bush Hall, St Michael
11. Eckstein Village, St Michael
12. Grant’s Gap, Westbury Road, St Michael
13. Jessamine Avenue, St Michael
14. Laynes Road, Brittons Hill, St Michael
15. Marshall Road, Bush Hall, St Michael
16. Prospect, St James
17. Reece Road #4, Brittons Hill, St Michael
18. Seclusion Road, Black Rock, St Michael
19. Skeete’s Road, Rose Hill (Ashton Hall), St Peter
20. Sunflower Avenue, St Thomas
21. Valley Ridge, Christ Church
22. Villa Road, St Michael
23. Wanstead Heights Upper Main Road, St James
24. Wavell New Development, St Michael
25. Yearwood Road, St Joseph
Roads in the works: St Michael
1. 1st Avenue Rouen Road
2. 2nd Avenue Rouen Road
3. 3rd Avenue Upper Goodland
4. Dacosta Drive, Eden Lodge
5. Eagle Hall Road to Lower Bank Hall
6. Eden Lodge
7. Gap off Phillips Road, Pine
8. Hunte’s Road, Carrington Village
9. Sorrel Lane
$10 million of the $23m went to the upgrading of some sections of the ABC highway under the Highway Maintenance Programme.
1. D’Arcy Scott Roundabout to Welches Roundabout
2. Errol Barrow Roundabout (Graeme Hall) to Top Rock Roundabout
3. JTC Ramsay Circle (Bussa Roundabout) to BET Hill
4. Tom Adams Highway from the Edwy Talma Roundabout to the Kingsland junction by Deighton Griffith Secondary School
5. Wildey Triangle
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