Western roundabout making progress
They are working day and night to quickly finish a job that has the city’s traffic going in circles. When they are finished the western entrance to the old capital should look as up-to-date as its northern counterpart. Ann-Marie Williams inspected the job this morning.
Ann-Marie Williams, Reporting
Twenty-five percent of the work on the Western Highway roundabout has been completed. Minister of Works, Henry Canton, and area representative, Remijio Montejo gave the media a progress report and tour this morning.
Henry Canton, Minister of Works
“It’s going to be exactly like the Northern Highway roundabout. What we’re having here is yes, it’s going to be two-way where you have the traffic going around the roundabout and those that are being diverted. We’re putting the pedestrian walkways around it and having a guardrail to make it a little safer. We’re establishing where the busses that come in can pull off the main thoroughway to get people off the buses.”
And speaking of buses, Canton says legislation is being drafted to force buses to comply with the laws.
Henry Canton
“That old bus thing is an ongoing problem that we’re trying to resolve. We’re putting very shortly into the House the legislation to actually be able to enforce. One of the problems with our transport laws is that we know what we need to do, but we don’t have the legislation to back it up. It’s a little antiquated in particular, the fines we need to change.
Ann-Marie Williams
“Or we don’t enforce it?”
Henry Canton
“Well we enforce it, but when the fine is twenty-five dollars an offence, with a lot of these bus people it’s easier to pay the twenty-five dollars, create the offence and still make a profit on it. So we have to make it more meaningful that when we fine them it means something to them.”
Canton says this roundabout project will also include the resurfacing of several other roads.
Henry Canton
“We’re also having another project which is not involved with the roundabout where we’re hoping to reseal the Northern Highway from mile two all the way to the port, which will upgrade all these linkages to this roundabout.”
And one important link both into and out of the city that will see great improvement is the portion of the Northern Highway from Shell to Biltmore Hotel.
Henry Canton
“We’re hoping to do some temporary work on that. I now feel confident that we have the funding to upgrade that to a standard where it will be similar to that before it. What we’re trying not to do is inconvenience people. I’m hoping too that within the next four, five, six weeks, we could get something seriously going on that road. We’ll repair it temporarily.”
Area representative Montejo says government is making good on its manifesto promise.
Remijio Montejo, Area Rep., Collet Division
“What is happening here is the G.O.B. at work and I’m the area representative and I have been very vocal that we need to speed up whatever project we have in our division that we keep our commitment for the upliftment of the southside.”
Ann-Marie Williams for News 5.
Construction of the new roundabout and roadworks is being carried out by CISCO construction.
