The Tribune

By KEILE CAMPBEL

Tribune Staff Reporter

kcampbell@tribunemedia.net

FRUSTRATED residents in western New Providence have complained about repeated sand build-up along West Bay Street, which they say has disrupted traffic and raised road safety concerns.

Works Minister Clay Sweeting said his ministry was assessing ways to address the problem, while Killarney MP Michela Barnett-Ellis said long-term coastal protection measures, including possible seawalls, were needed.

She warned that continued exposure to high tides and waves could eventually make the road impassable.

Their comments came after The Tribune canvassed sections of West Bay Street yesterday, speaking with affected commuters.

They described the sand build-up as a persistent problem that has slowed traffic and made driving difficult.

Others complained that sand had remained on the roadway for weeks despite repeated clean-up efforts.

Sixty-year-old Leon was among the frustrated drivers.

He told The Tribune yesterday: "It's been there too long. It's always been piled up and nobody was moving it, and now they just started to move it."

He estimated that workers had only begun removing the accumulated sand "two to three days" ago.

Local business owner Ricky echoed similar concerns, estimating that sand had been accumulating along the roadway for nearly two weeks.

He described it as a worsening problem aggravated by bad weather, recalling previous hurricanes when larger rocks and greater amounts of sand washed onto the road.

"There's been some tractors that came through and pushing the sand on the side and stuff like that, but if you still leave a layer of sand on the top of the road, what happens is the cars trample over it and then make those little bumps, which damage either your car, your wheels', and once again slow down traffic," Ricky said.

Driving towards the area, The Tribune observed mounds of compacted sand at various points along West Bay Street, closer to Gambier Village.

Piles of sand measuring up to roughly four feet high were also visible along the roadside.

Restaurant owner Giorgio, 55, who said he had lived in The Bahamas for 20 years, attributed the problem to the road's proximity to the coastline rather than climate change. He suggested that clean-up efforts could only provide temporary relief.

"It's just that when we build the road close to the sea, the sea reminds you it's the boss," the restaurant owner said, adding that despite repeated cleanup efforts, the sand would continue to return.

"They come, they do the cleaning, but then come back again because the boss the real boss is the sea."

As the driver of a larger vehicle, he said the sand did not affect his ability to navigate the road. 

However, he expressed concern for drivers of smaller vehicles. 

He said drivers with smaller cars would usually slow down to manoeuvre over the compacted sand to avoid damaging their cars.

Mrs Barnett-Ellis said her constituency team contacted the Ministry of Works last week to request assistance with removing sand, rocks and other debris deposited along the roadway following king tides.

She said crews initially removed some sand near Delaporte but did not proceed further along the affected road.

"They came out on Monday, but they weren't out very long, and they kind of just pushed the sand to the side of the road, which is not a long-term solution because the sand is sand. It moves and its eventually going to come back into the road," she said.

Mrs Barnett-Ellis blamed the worsening conditions on climate change and higher tides, warning that the issue extended beyond sand build-up to the danger of waves washing onto the roadway.

She said the problem was not a new issue and called for long-term coastal protection measures, including the possible construction of seawalls along portions of West Bay Street.

"So it's important that we restore and protect our coastline," she said.

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Mr Sweeting acknowledged concerns about the sand build-up, saying the ministry's technical team was assessing feasible measures to prevent sand from continuing to wash onto roads in western New Providence.

"The technical team at the ministry is assessing on what would be something feasible to try to prevent that in the future. So we'll see what their assessment is, and then we'll go on from there," Mr Sweeting said.