Nassau, The Bahamas – Motorists are urged to plan their journeys ahead of time and leave home earlier with the November 22 closure of Robinson Road to Soldier Road beginning from the intersection at Grace Avenue and Old Trail Road. The road is being closed to facilitate the installation of a 24-inch pipe.
Charlene Collie-Harris engineer and public relations officer for The Ministry of Public Works and Transport said the roadway would be under “full road closure” as the existing pavement does not allow traffic to flow while the pipe is being installed. “The work is taking up much of the roadway now (from Marathon to Grace Avenue) and we have another area on the entire roadway to install this water and sewer pipe. We’ve only been able to grant one lane of traffic in each direction,” she said.
Collie-Harris expressed satisfaction with the 700 ft of pipe that has already been installed since work began between Old Trail and Marathon Road on November 15. She said contractors are progressing well and the work should be completed before the Christmas holidays.
In keeping with contract specifications, work on the New Providence Road Improvement Project is expected to wrap up for the holidays as of December 15.
“From the week of December 15 leading up to December 22 the contractor will be making the sight safe and ready for traffic. If there is an area that is open, that area will be closed regardless of the completion of the work. We have a specification that we must follow. During the Christmas holidays no construction work is allowed to take place. The work will commence as early as January 6, 2011,” Collie-Harris said.
In addition to an “extremely” nice, new roadway, Collie-Harris said the public can look forward to new underground infrastructure and a smooth flow of traffic once the work is completed. “Once we’ve completed the New Providence Road Infrastructure programme we should expect to reap the benefits.
“We acknowledge that there is still much traffic as the amount of vehicles on the road have not changed. However, the flow is consistent as long as you make a steady speed, plan where you want to go, and choose your lanes wisely,” she said.
On behalf of the Ministry of Public Works and Transport, she apologised to the public, business owners, residents and motorists for any inconvenience caused. We are leaning heavily on the police for their assistance with enforcement on the roadways and we’re asking the public to abide by the rules and pay attention to the traffic management measures in place,” she added.
By Kathryn Campbell
Bahamas Information Services
