Basseterre, St. Kitts, November 06, 2017 (SKNIS): Minister of Public Infrastructure the Honourable Ian Patches Liburd said the Government is preparing to move forward with plans to upgrade the main road in St. Kitts.
At a town hall meeting at the Edgar T. Morris Primary School on Sunday (November 05), Minister Liburd shared that the time was right to implement a resurfacing project.
In May 2017, ADeB Consultants Ltd. were contracted to conduct a road condition survey. Cromwell Williams, the Director of the Public Works Department, said the consultants are taking a close look at the island’s main road, which was last resurfaced approximately 20 years ago.
A road survey consists of walking the length of the road, taking measurements of the width of the road, and considering alignment issues relating to corners and the ability of drivers to negotiate them, Mr. Williams said.
“We also will be looking at how we can improve some of the drainage features of the road so that when we have heavy rainfall for instance, we won’t have the ponding of water on the road, which can be a major safety risk to users of the road,” Mr. Williams stated.
An inspection of bridges across St. Kitts is included as part of this project to ensure that they remain structurally sound to accommodate the growing number of vehicles that use them frequently.
“The whole idea is that we are going to put together a project to address the deficiencies that the road would have at this time. It is indeed due for major rehabilitation work and so this is the first step,” Director Williams stated.
Minister Liburd said the project is expected to cost more than $60 million and will be carried out in phases over a two year period. Work should begin in 2018.