The Minister of Infrastructure Housing and Planning is pleased to announce that the Contract for the upgrading of the Lighthouse Road in Grand Turk will shortly be signed. The Contract will provide for the reconstruction of the road to a modern standard with an asphaltic cement surface contained by kerbs, a sidewalk on one side and a cycle path on the other.
The objective is to provide a good quality road to an acceptable standard to service motorists in Grand Turk as well as providing safe areas for residents and visitors to exercise by walking and cycling.
The construction works will take place within the 100ft road reserve and the reserve will be cleared of obstructions including electricity poles, trees and walls to give a safer journey for all motorists. Research bodies advise that at least 20% of deaths on the road result from vehicles leaving the road and hitting an obstruction, particularly electricity poles and trees. Stray animals will also be easier to see and avoid with a cleared road reserve.
The newly constructed roadway will be finished with road markings, clear and precise signage, and reflective road studs to further increase safety for vehicular and pedestrian traffic. Adequate drainage systems will be provided to ensure that flooding is minimized; the drainage systems will be built in the form of gullies, soakaways and wells.
Users of the Lighthouse Road may be inconvenienced while this construction is ongoing and the Ministry apologizes in advance for this. However an appeal is being made to the public and road users to be considerate to the workers and residents along the road while the works are being carried out. Reducing speed will be safer and create less dust. Please drive slowly with extreme care and caution through the Works and be observant of any diversions as we try to complete this project as speedily and efficiently as possible.
As some of the electricity poles will have to be relocated to allow for road construction there will also be some short power outages to those properties on the road while the power lines and poles are relocated. These outages will be minimized and again apologies are made for this inconvenience.
The Minister advised that construction will begin shortly and is expected to take six months.
Issued by Ministry of Infrastructure Housing and Planning Public Works Department.
April 2016