Nassau, The Bahamas – The road works currently underway on East Street south (from the Robinson Road junction to Soldier Road) are a part of the New Providence Road Improvement Project (NPRIP) and are progressing “fairly” well.
Charlene Collie-Harris of the Project Execution Unit and public relations representative for NPRIP said the contractors, Jose Cartellone Construction Civilies, are moving in line with the programme and the Ministry is satisfied to date.
“We’ve now started progressing two new lanes on the western side and we’ve paved the first portion of those two lanes up to the roundabout on Independence Drive,” said Collie-Harris.
“We’ve also started the installation of deep wells which are 10-inch in diameter and 150 ft deep that divert the drainage along the whole length of the roadway. Along the side there are carrier drains and corrugated pipes that are the drainage inlets for both sides of the streets. Drainage wells have also been installed along the route.”
Once paving is completed the contractor will begin to install street light columns, sidewalks along the length of both sides of the roadway from the Robinson Road junction to Soldier Road. The advanced work on this corridor included the relocation of Bahamas Electricity Corporation poles.
“There will be four lanes of traffic travelling in each direction; with two lanes north and two lanes travelling south. When the two lanes are finished we will allow traffic to move on the new pavement then we will start work on the eastern side. There should always be a continuous flow of traffic along the route as we progress the construction work,” said Collie-Harris.
Garden Hills Subdivision will have controlled access on the eastern and western sides. It is anticipated that there will be “minimal” disruption for businesses on East Street during the construction phase.
“Road closures will be a period of a few hours to no more than one day,” said Collie-Harris.
“Work will be done during evening hours when businesses are closed should we require more time.” Construction on East Street will come to a halt for the Christmas holidays from December 15 until January 6, 2011. From December 15 to 22 contractors will inspect the project site to ensure it is in safe condition during the break.
The NPRIP is a major component of the New Providence Transit Programme and is funded by the Government of The Bahamas and the Inter-American Development Bank.
By Kathryn Campbell
Bahamas Information Services
