Preparations for paving of downtown area continue …
For weeks now heavy duty equipment has been a part of the scenery in the downtown area as the various utility companies upgrade their respective systems. The activity, which is in preparation for the paving of Albert and Regent streets, has resulted in some inconvenience for motorists as traffic has had to be diverted to accommodate the work. Today the Belize City Council’s Public Relations Officer, Kenny Morgan, asked the public to exercise a little bit of patience for the process.
Kenny Morgan, PR Officer, Belize City Council
“For the next two weeks we are looking at no parking on Albert and Regent street from six in the morning until six in the evening. This is solely to facilitate the three utility companies because we will have B.W.S., B.E.L., and B.T.L. working at the same time and in order to accommodate the equipment and the machinery that will be in the area, we’re asking the residents and the businesses to give us that little leeway from six until six. Right now they are doing the trenching, laying down the existing pipes along the length of Albert and Regent Street. Next week they will be coming in to do the service connections that will be connected to each individual resident and business. Now they have promised us that they will try to do their work without blocking the intersections where you cross Albert and Regent Streets so we will be able to facilitate the flow of traffic from the canal side to Foreshore and vice versa for the motorists and pedestrians who usually use this area. When the work next week starts approaching the Belize Swing Bridge, then we will have another approach to it whereby we will be redirecting traffic that comes over the Swing Bridge along Regent Street instead of coming Albert Street. From Regent Street they should be able to access along the canal side and then used one of the tributaries Bishop Street, Dean Street, King Street, to get to or from foreshore. I know this has been a great bother and inconvenience to the citizenry but we’d like to ask for their cooperation. As you know, when progress is coming, some problems will arise and I think this is a very small price to pay for what we will be getting when the entire project is completed.”
Kendra Griffith
“How long do you envision this lasting?”
Kenny Morgan
“Right now depending if the weather holds and work proceeds as it is, we see another two and a half to three weeks for preliminary works and then we will be able to come in and bring in the people who will be doing the actual paving. Of course, after the paving, then there is still the upgrading of the sidewalks that has to be done as well as the planting of trees.”
According to Morgan, this weekend residents in the area will also experience some interruption of electricity as B.E.L. replaces some of their lampposts.
