Video
Roadworks on the Eastern Road
Thousands of motorists have endured frustrating delays after workers botched resurfacing work on Eastern Road.
And last night Minister of Works Desmond Bannister promised he would hold utilities companies to account for the “embarrassing” delays on one of the most important roads into Nassau.
Resurfacing work on Eastern Road began nearly two weeks ago and was scheduled to finish tomorrow.
Instead, the blunders will mean motorists will have to endure detours and delays probably until the end of the week.
“It is hugely embarrassing,” Mr Bannister said last night.
“We had an agreement with the utility companies which they haven’t kept to.”
The first major issue arose when Water and Sewerage came on the resurfacing site and had to do works leading to six properties adjacent to the area being worked on.
“That cost us one day,” said Mr Bannister.
“Unfortunately they did not do a good job and when we checked that cost another day.”
Motorists had hoped come Wednesday last week that the resurfacing appeared to be coming to an end when some major tarmac was laid. It proved to be a false dawn.
“Unfortunately we found they had cut off some BTC lines and we had to go in and repair that,” said Mr Bannister.
That meant road which had seen new tarmac laid down had to be dug up.
“That cost us another two days. It is very embarrassing for us,” he said.
Fortunately equipment which could have remained idle while the mistakes were corrected was switched to other works.
“It has been more annoying than costly,” said Mr Bannister.
“The annoyance for drivers has been my main concern. The utilities have not been as effective as they should have been and I am going to hold them to account.
“We expect them to start pouring on Monday and hopefully by the end of the week we will have a paved road.”
Comments
proudloudandfnm 6 years, 7 months ago
Damn its a comedy sketch!
And this what our tax dollars go to. Lazy, incompetent government staff...
Dawes 6 years, 7 months ago
Can the Minister also get the utility companies to hire people who can replace the hole they have dug so it is level with the road. It seems every time they dig a hole it starts off being higher then the road and then over time sinks to below the road. It's not rocket science to get right so they should be able to do it (as a note the rest of the world does it so maybe ask them).
DDK 6 years, 7 months ago
It's not rocket science and the workers are not rocket scientists!
OMG 6 years, 7 months ago
Usual debacle whereby road is resurfaced and then utility companies decide they need to lay lines etc and dig up the resurfaced area. Why do we pay all these bosses in W & S, BTC, BEC to show such incompetence. How hard can it be to liase with one another prior to starting work ?
ThisIsOurs 6 years, 7 months ago
Actually scheduling is one of THE hardest problems, you can see some of the challenges as Bannister explains that when the problems were finally resolved, the equipment was already committed for use elsewhere.
ThisIsOurs 6 years, 7 months ago
Don't know anything about road resurfacing techniques, but was it strange that the first layer of tar laid down had patches in it? Shouldn't the underlying layers be evenly laid? And the asphalt seemed to be squished all over the side of the road, is that normal? Don't recall that it looked that way when they paved it for Miss Universe...But that was a long time ago, maybe it was the same.
However! I don't believe that it's an easy task to coordinate the work of so many independent organizations. My faith is still in Bannister and Sands
JohnDoes 6 years, 7 months ago
To me it doesnt matter how long it takes, once it gets done. We all know how long it takes the govt to get to work on these roads. I dont think its that bad if they run a couple days late. I just wish that they damn pave the rest of Soldier Road/Village Road from TCBY to Shirley Street. That same old road what Queens College is on, they been neglecting that for YEARS.
Fitmiss 6 years, 7 months ago
Just imagine the condition of family island roads. Here in Eleuthera, where numerous pipes have burst, they are dug up, filled in and left that way. Now the roads have pot holes and the fill used is often higher than the road.
hrysippus 6 years, 7 months ago
The govment paving the Eastern Road, . . . . . .. ... And so now they're reaping what they've sowed, . . . . . . . Almost fifty years of government slackness, . . . . . ..... Contributes to the country's slackness, . . . . . . ....... Lay down that tar and we'll dig a trench . . . . . . . ... Into careful plans we'll throw a wrench, . . . . . . . ...... Causing motorists plenty vexation, . . . . . ..... Is just one way we build this nation, . . . . . . ... Those broken shocks and bust up wheel, . . . . . . ... For mechanic shops are a real good deal. . . . . ..... And with that import duty earned,............. . .. .. .. .. Government got more to be burned, . . . . . . .. Paying off the PLP'S Crony bill, . . . . . .. That we've paid for years and are paying still, . . . . .. Meanwhile that shuffling prime buffoon, . . . . . . . Is still dancing rich to his pension tune.
DaGoobs 6 years, 7 months ago
Here we go with more "La Dee Dah" BS where these dumba** utility companies once more can't get their acts together in coordination with the road paving exercise. We had this same truckload of nonsense when they paved Blue Hill Road, Market Street, Robinson Road and Prince Charles Drive just a few years ago. The road is all redone then the Water Corp. or the Phone Company or BEC come along and dig it up to do some remedial work and then we are back to having uneven roads that are poorly and/or improperly repaved and it stays that way for years. The government collects enough taxes from gasoline and now VAT that road should be repaired annually without having to fall into such bad disrepair before anything is done.
DDK 6 years, 7 months ago
Amazing that the one time the work was not contracted out, the "blunders" fall on the tax payers. What about the staff responsible? I guess they get a longer lunch hour to compensate for all their duress!
Well_mudda_take_sic 6 years, 7 months ago
NOT A SINGLE PERSON WILL BE FIRED!
sheeprunner12 6 years, 7 months ago
Bannister has an ambitious timeline ........... but the workers and the utilities have a different agenda .......... and he cannot control everything ....... so of course it will be annoying to him.
It will get better as he continues to beat the drum ......... and some penalties will drive it home, as no one likes to have their pockets burned.
bogart 6 years, 7 months ago
Granted that it is a coordinating process but after decades shouldnt they have gotten it correct??? It is time that some of those oldtime staff who still cant get it right be terminated and hire new staff who can. Majority of people should not pay for a few persons to make their lives hell.
Jetflt 6 years, 7 months ago
It has nothing to do with old staff my friend. It has everything to do with LEADERSHIP AND ACCOUNTABILITY - a foreign concept that heads of government organizations have failed to grasp since 1973, and don’t you for one moment believe that’s going to change in this lifetime or the next. You start firing people for poor performance and you watch how fast things turnaround! In fact, it’ll happen before you turnaround to see it - but this too is a foreign concept to Bahamians. And so, status quo, is the order of the day! Road work and coordination of utility companies has been f - - - - d up since I was young boy. What else is new?!
Greentea 6 years, 7 months ago
just fix it by the time I get home- just ridiculous how these ministries operate like someones little fiefdom. Can't get anything right if people refuse to work together, consult and communicate. The price is high for real asshole logic or illogic that dominates the country.
juju 6 years, 7 months ago
I didn’t think that the Eastern Road at that location was that bad to begin with! Maybe a few potholes, but Mr. Symonette had them filled.
ThisIsOurs 6 years, 7 months ago
Probably because we used to subpar unmaintained road surfaces. As things go "generally", it wasn't bad
John 6 years, 7 months ago
So the roads built under Jose Cartelones are still in good shape. It was Bahamians who paved those roads> The two basic differences. One you must start with a smooth even surfaces, you cannot pave over unfilled potholes and improperly back filled trenches. TWO. Major roadways need multi layers of paving to be durable and long lasting.
Dawes 6 years, 7 months ago
Third one is to make sure all utilities are not under the road. If i remember correctly one of the major reasons for the time it took Jose to do the roads is because all the utilities were upgraded at the same time and moved to the side of the roads for easier and less intrusive access.
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