Minister Francis not satisfied with quality of road repair

Road repair contractors have been called out by Minister of Transport and Works Julian Francis to lift the bar in the quality of work delivered.{{more}}

‘I will say to the contractors… those who can’t lift the bar… can’t get involved in road repairs.

The Minister was speaking at a Press conference on Monday, October 31, held by the Bridges, Roads and General Services Authority (BRAGSA) at their headquarters in Lower Bay Street, where it was announced that EC$5 million has been allocated for road repairs.

In his delivery, Francis said that he believes more care and attention needed to be placed on preparation and patching of roads, and closer examination on how the patches are placed.

He said that in some areas, not enough is dug out of the potholes to prepare for patching, and in others, the holes are not re-dug after they are affected by weather or vehicles passing through them after they have been initially prepared.

“Surely this that can’t be acceptable. You gotta dig down a little bit deeper to have it patched properly. If you put an inch of asphalt its not gonna last three weeks.

“I believe that the supervisors have already stepped in and they are dealing with that particular situation.

He said that he also had issues with the hot mixes that they were getting.

“I don’t think we are getting a proper mix. I’ve seen some hot mix going down on the road that I’m not quite happy with, despite the fact that prices for hot mix have just gone up to $525 a cubic yard. I’m saying, if we are paying that amount of money while the prices are increasing, we should be getting a better quality mix.”

“I believe that they can give us a better mix, and I’ve been insisting that BRAGSA put a little bit more supervision and approval of the mix that they are getting from the hot mix suppliers.”

Francis identified the two hot mix suppliers as Franco and Argyle Construction companies.

The minister also called for persons getting into the asphalt business to have experienced persons working with them, who can ensure that the quality of their services and products are up to standard, or face the consequences.

“As minister, I had told (BRAGSA CEO) Brian (George) that I am very unhappy with the work…. We’ve spoken to a couple of them. In fact, Brian tells me he has deducted money from some of them because he was not happy with the quality, and I am even more unhappy than Brian is on the matter.”(JJ)