Final phase of Windward Highway set for completion

If all goes as planned, the final phase of the Windward road rehabilitation should be completed this coming Sunday.{{more}}

Speaking to Nikolai Lewis, project engineer in the Project Management Unit in the Ministry of Transport and Works, he told SEARCHLIGHT that road work is currently underway between the entrance to Murray’s Village and the Girls’ High School bus stop.

He added that more work will be done from the Sally Spring area to the end of the Windward highway, which is located at the junction at Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC), on Upper Bay Street.

Lewis noted that Franco Construction Ltd, which has been contracted to carry out the 16-week project, commenced work on the roads last Sunday by stripping the asphalt from the concrete based section between Murray’s Road and the Girl’s High School bus stop.

“Work continued on Monday and Tuesday night; that would be it in terms of the scarification (stripping) of the asphalt within that section for the week,” Lewis disclosed.

He further noted that Franco Construction still has certain documentation to submit to the Ministry, and if is acceptable, they will begin to “prime” the area on Saturday afternoon around 2 p.m. and should begin paving the area on Sunday, starting at 8 a.m., which he said could be finished by 4 p.m.

“It is a combination of day and night work. Most of the times, the paving works will be done mostly in the day, but we will try to do the stripping of the existing pavement at night to minimise the disruption to the regular traffic,” Lewis further explained.

According to Lewis, the section of road from the Stop Light Restaurant area to KFC will be difficult, but noted that once it is done and the pavement is acceptable, all the necessary road signs will go in place.

Lewis said motorists coming into Kingstown will now use the entrance to Sally Spring and exit at the junction at the University of the West Indies Open Campus.

However, traffic coming from Kingstown will not be disrupted.

“We’ll keep at least one lane opened for them to continue coming out of town, so it’s only people coming into town will have the diversion,” Lewis explained.

For large trucks and trailers, Lewis said they are cognisant of the fact they will not be able to take the Sally Spring route, and stated that they will make provision for those vehicles to travel the normal route into Kingstown. (KW)