Highway to be resurfaced, better maintained

With an average of seven fatalities per month, traffic accidents have become a leading cause of death in Belize. In an effort to improve one stretch of road that seems particularly hazardous, the Ministry of Works and Transport and the Inter-American Development Bank, I.D.B., have signed a million dollar project to provide for routine road maintenance and an axle survey facility. The new project will target portions of the Western Highway between miles twenty and twenty-one, and thirty and thirty-five, and add skid resistant features. Routine maintenance will also be carried out to replenish the shoulders, clean drainage structures, control vegetation, add reflectors, reseal potholes and maintain existing mileposts and signs. The axle survey facility will monitor commercial and industrial vehicles to make sure they are not overloaded. According to the I.D.B., the funds became available as a result of work on the Southern Highway coming in under-budget. The Ministry of Works has also embarked on a vigorous campaign called “safety first” to promote the use of seat belts, discourage drunk driving, speeding and reckless driving.