Cabinet Approves Contract for Work on Palisadoes Strip

Cabinet has approved a contract valued at US$40 million for the rock revetment work on the Palisadoes strip, which will be done as part of Phase One of the Palisadoes Protection and Rehabilitation Project.
This was announced by the Minister of Housing, Transport, Water and Works, Robert Pickersgill, during his contribution to the Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives, yesterday (May 30).
“This is an immediate step to address the problem of a road which is now substantially at or below sea level,” the Minister said.
“The intention is to implement the findings of a study, which was done through assistance from the Cuban Government. Key stakeholders such as the University of the West Indies, the National Environment and Planning Agency, and the Ministry of Local Government and Environment have been involved in the discussions,” said Mr. Pickersgill.
In the meantime, the Minister informed that on March 23, the Government formally applied to the Caribbean Development Bank for a loan to assist in the financing of the reconstruction and widening of the eastern end of the Washington Boulevard/Dunrobin Avenue corridor between Molynes Road and Constant Spring Road.
“It is a significant distributor of traffic, carrying the third largest volume of traffic in the Kingston Metropolitan Area (KMA). The current roadway is heavily congested during peak periods, with traffic volumes regularly exceeding its design capacity,” said Mr. Pickersgill.
He added that the project is expected to assist in increasing the efficiency of road transport in the KMA, by improving capacity and adding dedicated bus transit lanes, thereby reducing vehicle operating cost, travel time and accidents.
“Construction is expected to begin in January 2008 at a cost of US$23.3 million. The completion of the expansion works will improve the capacity of the roadway, doubling it, moving from 1,153 vehicles per direction to 3,220 vehicles per direction,” said the Minister.
He also informed the House that, “we received word that the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) has approved our application for the funding.”