Belize City Northern entrance locked off for construction
Darrell Bradley
There was a bottleneck this morning caused by ongoing road works at the northern entrance of the city. Commuters, entering and leaving Belize City via the Phillip Goldson Highway, were surprised by the unannounced closure of the thoroughfare at its juncture with the Freetown Road roundabout. Motorists exiting the Old Capital this morning were met by traffic officers redirecting them through Coney Drive as that stretch of road is now closed for construction. The works, says Belize City Mayor Darrell Bradley, is part of the resurfacing of Freetown Road. When completed pedestrians will be forced to use the overpass.
Darrell Bradley, Mayor, Belize City
“Freetown Road Project is two-fold. It includes the stretch of Freetown Road from Barrack road all the way to the roundabout and we are doing hundred feet along the northern highway and we will remove the pedestrian crossings and we will compel people to use the overpass and we believe that that will ameliorate a lot of traffic congestion in the morning. Admittedly it is poorly timed, but what the stretch of Freetown Road is almost completed. We are trying to get that work substantially completed before Christmas Day and so they are going to meet up with the contractor on Freetown road to ensure that at least by New Year’s Day we could finish that road. It is one point three miles of road and it would be a free flow all the way from Barrack Road on to the Northern Highway. I had expected that the works would have been more advanced at this stage. We had delays with the rains and also with the launching of the bond. I know it is an inco0nvenience for persons; it is particularly disruptive being that it is the Christmas Holidays but we have our trafficking persons out there rerouting traffic through Coney Drive. And we have traffic officers who will be out there at peak hours in the mornings and evenings and they will be out there throughout the day and we are just asking persons to bear with us. The work is supposed to take fifteen days and then you will have very lovely street.”
The road is expected to remain closed for fifteen days, so if you’re planning to leave the city, plan accordingly.
Kudos to the Mayor, i am in now way in support of any red or blue politician but to block off the pedestrian crossings and forcing to use the overpass has been long awaited. The traffic congestion in the highway is riduculous and this move will definitely be great to all commuters. Keep up the good work!
Foolish timing from the public’s point of view.
The bigger concern for me is whether the Mayor’s glorious street paving program, which seems to have sucked tax money from other municipal activities, is good policy and entirely honest. Contracts like these cause such a temptation for officials to demand kickbacks and bribes from the contractors, they much be watched closely. Who is watching now?
I hope my fears are unfounded, but they come from long experience.
it is a hussle for Christmas money that is why they are rushing plain and simple. what happen to all they businesses that are inconvenienced, they will be asked to pay trade and property tax in Jan but bobody can get to their stare right now.