Government Information Service

by Emmanuel H. Joseph
Government Information Service

Phase one of the Roseau Road Reinstatement Project is progressing at such a pace that the entire project is expected to be completed before the end of September, 2009, several weeks ahead of schedule. Work on phase one (1) of the project commenced in October of 2008.

Presently, approximately sixty workers are employed on the project which involves the construction of two roads and a bridge. One of these roads, the Link Road, will be five hundred and sixty-five metres (569) long and will connect the E.C Loblack Bridge via the northern bank of the Roseau River. It will consist of a seven (7) metre dual carriage way with allowance for some parking and one and a half metre (1.5) wide sidewalks on both sides of the road as far as possible.

The other road, the Windsor Park Road, will be a two (2)-lane road, five hundred and fifty-seven (557) metres long and six (6) metres wide and will have one and half (1.5) metre wide sidewalks on both sides. It will commence at the intersection of Bath Road and River Street progressing along the southern bank of the Roseau River terminating at the intersection of Valley Road and Elmshall Road near the Bath Estate Bridge.

The Hon. Minister for Public Works and Infrastructural Development, Rayburn Blackmoore visited the project site on Friday, May 22nd, 2009 and was delighted with the progress thus far. Mr. Blackmoore said that upon completion, the road will bring much needed relief to motorists who conduct business in and out of Roseau.

“The road network, when it is completed, will provide a new alternative route into and out of the city to ease up the bottleneck situation that exists especially during the rush hours in the morning and afternoon.”

The new bridge will link Bath Road to the new road leading to Rose Street in Goodwill. The Road will be of reinforced concrete type, fifty (50) metres long with seven and a third (7.3) metres wide dual carriage way along with one and a half (1.5) metre wide sidewalks on both sides.

The total cost of the project is approximately twenty and a half million East Caribbean dollars (XCD$20 700 000.00) and is being financed jointly by the Kuwaiti Fund for Arab Economic Development and the Government of the Commonwealth of Dominica.

The completion of the bridge and two roads will conclude phase one of the Roseau Roads Reinstatement Project. This project which was initially intended to follow on the hills of the Roseau Water and Sanitation Project initially targeted the resurfacing of all the road network in Roseau, improvement of the sidewalks and drains around the city. However, the project had to be pushed back due to austerity measures which had to be implemented by the Pierre Charles administration. The funds which were negotiated then could not fund the entire project hence it was decided that the most pressing matter would be addressed. So far, all the designs for the streets, draining and sidewalks in Roseau have been long completed including proposed traffic management and will come on stream once funding is procured.