by Ari Shaw

Complaints about the bumpy terrain, dust and detours on the South Leeward highway will soon come to a halt, as pavement works on the road rehabilitation project are scheduled to begin.

This was confirmed by engineer Shaun{{more}} Daniel and project officer Osei Morris, who stated that the area between Questelles and Campden Park would be the first to begin pavement works. “Anywhere base material is seen being laid is a prime indication that pavement will begin shortly,” Daniel stated in a recent interview with SEARCHLIGHT.

According to Daniel, major attention was given to the Questelles area because of complaints over the years of slippage and land settlement. He noted that a large amount of earthworks were carried out to realign the road closer inland.

“The contractor has taken the approach of laying curbs and gutters and working on the areas that require a lot of earthwork before focusing on paving the roads. There would be six inches of base material laid then two inches of asphalt, raising the road by eight inches. Roads would be 6 to 6.8 metres in width because people have built on the road reserves in areas; Layou being a prime example, preventing the road from widening past 6.8 metres,” he said.

Major rehabilitative work areas are ‘Questelles Road Realignment’, ‘Campden Park Junction’, ‘Rillan Hill (Big Bush) Junction’ and ‘Buccament Bay Junction’.

Morris assured the public that progress, although not visible to the public eye, is indeed being made. He also urged motorists to adhere to the detour signs for their own safety and to ensure more productive progress in the specific areas from where they are being detoured.

The technical officers, however, said if any motorist has a grievance or complaint, it should be drawn to the attention of the contractor, whose office is located at Pembroke, just after the CK Greaves supermarket, and he will in turn investigate the said grievance.

The officers said usually these complaints are highlighted and documented at monthly progress meetings and there is a community liaison officer who follows up to make sure the claim is legitimate and also if there is a possible resolution to the claim.

They also disclosed that there are mechanisms in place for compensation for vehicles damaged by construction and if there are any defective works the contractor is responsible for any repairs up to a year after completion.

The project was funded by the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) with Dipcon Engineering Services LTD being the constructing company, working alongside DNL Consultants out of Barbados.

The South Leeward Road Rehabilitation project commenced on August 18, 2014 and is scheduled to be completed by May 19, 2016 (a 21-month contractual period).

According to the technical team, because the road has not being rehabilitated in 30 years, it has exceeded its life expectancy by five years, which prompted the Government to commence rehabilitation.