The government has completed 26 roads and spent $26 million of the $100 million borrowed from the Bank of Latin America for a major island-wide rehabilitation scheme, said Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport and Works Santia Bradshaw, while acknowledging that progress has been slowed by underground rock, utility works and other unforeseen obstacles.
At a press conference on Wednesday at the Ministry of Transport and Works’ (MTW) temporary offices in Haggatt Hall, St Michael, Bradshaw set out the current status of the project funded by the Latin American development bank, Corporación Andina de Fomento (CAF). The seven-year scheme is now in its third phase. Funded through a loan agreement signed in 2017 by the previous government, phase one began in January 2018.
“To date from that $100 million, we have actually spent about 26 million on the roads that have been completed and the roads that are currently in progress,” Bradshaw said. “We have about 26 roads that have been completed…. We’ve also identified another 11 roads for roller-compacted concrete.” A further five roads are to be announced shortly.
Bradshaw highlighted completed works at Rock Dundo (Phases 1 and 2), Fustic Village, Yorkshire Road, Millionaire Road in St Peter, and Gibbons Terrace, among others.
However, she stressed that many delays stemmed from factors outside contractors’ control — from shifting underground geology to the slow relocation of utility poles and water mains.
She said, “I know the public, everybody believes that there are engineers, that they can foresee that mains ought to have been replaced or that light poles should have been moved, or that they could anticipate a rupture…. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work like that.”
Coordination with public utilities was a prerequisite before construction began, she added. Yet even with extensive consultation at the outset, subsurface conditions could turn out to be different from surveys.
The CAF project targets major connecting routes with high traffic volumes. Improvements include not only resurfacing but also drainage, sidewalks, bridges, culverts and safety features.
Bradshaw referred to a 2017 International Road Assessment Programme (iRAP) audit that found only 30 per cent of roads in “good” condition, with 55 per cent “poor” and 15 per cent “bad”. This, she said, underpinned an island-wide strategy to tackle the worst roads in a systematic way rather than focusing on just a few constituencies.
sheriabrathwaite@barbadostoday.bb
KEY ROAD PROJECTS
What’s been done
– Rock Dundo, Phase 1 and Phase 2
– Fustic Village
– Yorkshire Road
– Millionaire Road, St Peter
– Gibbons Terrace
Works in progress and challenges
– Rock Dundo, St Peter – Underground rock 4–6ft below surface slowing work
– Prior Park, St James – Delays south of roundabout due to underground rock
– Thorpe’s Main Road junction, St James – Curbs, drainage and asphalt ongoing; 50 per cent paved
– Shop Hill to Content Road and Fortress Hill to Duke’s Hill, St Thomas – Subsurface rock, design changes and pole relocations caused delays; smoother progress expected in next phase
– Jackson to Bridgefield – Utility planning delays now resolved
– Cottage Valley, St Philip – Relocation of mains by the Barbados Water Authority slowed progress
– Sweet Home Road, St Peter – Water mains relocation causing hold-ups
THE CAF PROJECT
The CAF Project is a $100m road rehabilitation and infrastructure upgrade programme funded by a loan from the Bank of Latin America (Corporación Andina de Fomento).
An eight-year-old programme
The agreement was signed in 2017 by the Freundel Stuart administration. Phase one began in January 2018. The project is now in its third phase.
Project remit
The scheme focuses on high-traffic connecting roads across Barbados, with works including resurfacing, roller-compacted concrete paving, drainage and bridge repairs, sidewalk upgrades, culvert replacement and other safety features.
Road situation
55 per cent of Barbados’ roads were found in poor condition and 15 per cent in bad condition, according to an International Road Assessment Programme (iRAP) report in 2017. Less than one in three roads (30 per cent) were rated in good condition.
Delays
Progress has been hampered by underground rock, utility pole relocations, water main diversions, and unexpected subsurface conditions that require design changes or deeper excavation.
State of play
Twenty-six roads have been completed, with 11 more identified for next-generation concrete surfacing and five more to be announced.
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