A CONCRETE ROAD is planned for White Hill, St Andrew, which was devastated by constant land slippage.
Minister of Transport and Works Dr William Duguid assured St Andrew Member of Parliament George Payne that the proposal for the new road, which preliminary professional estimates projected to cost between $5 and $8 million, would be submitted to Cabinet, subject to Payne’s and other considerations.
Payne expressed concern yesterday that there was no indication of money being allocated in the 2019 Estimates Of Revenue And Expenditure
for roadworks in the St Andrew area, where residents have suffered following the collapse of the main road years ago.
“I am going to be contesting election after election until White Hill road has been fixed,” Payne declared.
Minister in the Ministry of Transport Peter Phillips said an international road assessment had classified 70 per cent of Barbados’ roads as “very poor”.
Deputy Chief Technical Officer Philip Tudor, who was also part of the team speaking from the Well of the House yesterday, said it would take $832 million to rehabilitate all the roads.
But with only $10 million in the Estimates for road repairs, Phillips said the ministry had a four-pronged approach that included milling and paving, rehabilitation and road reconstruction programmes.
He said work on the Ronald Mapp Highway, from Arch Hall Fire Station to Mile-and-a-Quarter, St Peter, was due to start in “another three or four weeks”.
Street lighting will also be installed along the highway where there are housing developments. Improved lighting was also planned for the southern end of the ABC Highway. (GC)
