Long-awaited contracts for major roadworks in St Peter will be awarded within months, bringing residents a step closer to safer routes after years of dangerous conditions and neglect, Minister of Transport and Works, Santia Bradshaw announced recently.
The Farm Road bridge is to be rebuilt and Warleigh Road is to be repaired under the contracts, she said.
In a statement, Bradshaw said the Farm Road bridge, which was extensively damaged after a water main ruptured, has remained out of use for an extended period, forcing traffic to be diverted via Warleigh Road.
“The technical designs for the reconstruction of the bridge were completed earlier this year and the project was put out to tender. The bids are currently under evaluation, and a contract could be awarded as early as next month,” she said.
The statement added that the Warleigh Road project has also gone to tender, with repair work scheduled to start early next year.
However, residents of the northern parish said the protracted delay in improvements has been a significant source of frustration.
St Peter resident Brittany Brewster told Barbados TODAY that the stretch from Hayman’s Market to Speightstown has been closed off for years and is now severely overgrown.
“The road has been blocked off for years – it’s overgrown with grass and bush, so you just can’t pass.”
She added that the absence of pedestrian crossings and pavements poses serious risks for schoolchildren, especially those attending Gordon Greenidge Primary School along the Ronald Mapp Highway.
“There are no pavements or even proper lighting along that stretch. At night, people are walking in the dark, and it’s really unsafe,” she said.
Brewster said residents hope the promised roadworks will finally provide much-needed relief to the community.
(LG)
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