The Tribune

EDITOR, The Tribune.

This New Providence Road Improvement Project (NPRIP) commenced early on the morning of Monday, November 2, 2009 at the Blue Hill Road and Robinson Road intersection, at a cost of $60 million. Nearly three years later Blue Hill Road is yet incomplete and the project now has a cost overrun of over $100 million and growing.

What is most troubling is that as taxpayers, especially vehicle owners, the disruption to our daily commute has been severely impacted by delays contributing to costly fuel consumption. Let's take a very close look at this project for which we are paying an exorbitant price.

The contractor Jose Cartellone Construction of Argentina are Spanish speaking, we speak English, and here lies our first problem – a language barrier.

A few short months after commencing work on Blue Hill Road they soon commenced work on Market Street. A few months later they were at Soldier Road and East Street intersection, mind you Blue Hill Road nor Market Street have been completed, merely converted into single lane traffic with major trenches excavated and lying opened for months. A few months later East Street from Robinson Road to Soldier Road was trenched and became a two-way one lane nightmare. Now at this point it really gets bad because added to the nightmare, Prince Charles Drive from Fox Hill Road to Soldier Road was excavated inclusive of Robinson Road all the way to Blue Hill Road and motorists were urged to use alternate routes, some motorists literally passed their houses trying to get home.

If it could get no worse, Independence Drive entered the mix and was converted into single lane traffic almost entirely. What really troubled me, was after the rush was on to complete many of these corridors before Christmas of 2011 and more importantly before the May 7, 2012 general elections, Independence Drive received no additional lanes. It was returned to its original state after nine months of being a nuisance and major frustration to the motoring public. There should have been auxiliary lanes at the East Street intersection both sides as is the case at the Blue Hill Road intersection. After waiting nine months for Independence Drive to be completed during which time weeks would go by with no work being done and motorists frustrated in their attempts to navigate to their various destinations. The motoring public experienced no relief at the East Street intersection but is returned to the usual long traffic lines for the indefinite future. Why was the intersection at East Street on Independence Drive digged up and left desolate for nine months if it would merely be returned to its former state? And the Bahamian taxpayers are expected to pay for this?

Blue Hill Road, which is one of two major thoroughfares which runs practically the full length of the island north to south, has been redesigned with extremely wide sidewalks and a narrow causeway. Every side street has a concrete embankment on both sides extending about 30 feet from Blue Hill Road, which now makes it impossible for vehicles to enter side streets when another vehicle is seeking to enter Blue Hill Road. Another negative aspect regarding this road project is the number of businesses that were destroyed and the serious financial hardships created for former employees and business owners. Additionally, as a result of sidewalks indiscriminately and in some cases unnecessarily created, businesses that have prevailed have lost valuable parking spaces.

Southern Recreation Grounds, located near St Agnes Anglican Church, has lost most of its parking space along Market Street as a result of unnecessary sidewalk creation. This facility is an historic public meeting place as well as the home of "The Old Timers Softball League." The utter stupidity to create sidewalks in front of St. Agnes Anglican Church, located on Blue Hill Road and in front of S C McPherson Jr High School, is a most asinine decision. The current Minister of Works stated that he will cause an investigation to come about, as to how these road works may have negatively impacted the lives of Bahamians and motorists especially. He is currently observing abject stupidity taking effect daily via these works. One would think that the minister acting in the strength of his portfolio would cause to be eliminated from the project, plans that obviously negatively impact motorists and businesses alike, and bring to an abrupt end much of the nonsense being carried out daily.

Those islands on Charles Saunders Highway and the one on Dolphin Drive between JFK Drive and Saunders Beach needs to be removed forthwith as they are a public nuisance and a hazard to motorists. Why didn't the Ingraham administration bring together all the local road builders and repairmen, to engage this project over a period of several years and systematically, intelligently complete this project, simultaneously empowering Bahamians? Further, why not empower Bahamian road builders and repairmen by granting them the $40 million dollar road project to reroute West Bay Street? Could you imagine the empowerment to Porky Dorsette and other small black Bahamian businessmen with $40 million? And Mr Ingraham wonders why his party was voted out office?

Finally, this (NPRIP) road project has been ongoing for four years and costing thus far four times its original contract price and has been undoubtedly a living nightmare for the residents of New Providence. The abject stupidity displayed by both the PLP and the FNM governments as well as the contractor is the second greatest disservice a black government has brought about since January 10th, 1967.

P ANTHONY DEAN

Nassau,

September 26, 2012.