The Tribune

By KEILE CAMPBELL

Tribune Staff Reporter

kcampbell@tribunemedia.net

SHIRLEY Street's fresh asphalt is not for the King, according to Works Minister Clay Sweeting, who said the repaving the road was already part of his ministry's plans.

Asked whether the paving, which has irritated some road users, was prompted by King Charles III's upcoming visit, Mr Sweeting said his ministry had been expanding paving across the country over the past two to three years. He said there would always be something happening that could appear to motivate the work one way or another.

"I think just monitor the work," he said, "and then you make your own judgement."

Buckingham Palace has announced that the King will make an autumn tour from October 27 to November 4. The tour includes a royal visit to The Bahamas ahead of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Antigua and Barbuda, which runs from November 1 to 4. It will be his first trip to The Bahamas as monarch. He last visited in 1973 as Prince of Wales, representing Queen Elizabeth II at the Independence celebrations.

On Gladstone Road, Mr Sweeting said preparatory work to turn the road into a dual carriageway was complete, but a request for proposal had yet to be issued. The project will be tendered alongside other major road improvements the ministry has planned.

The Gladstone Road Improvement Project has been repeatedly delayed. Officials once said the road would become a four-lane highway along its full length, from Carmichael Road to John F Kennedy Drive, by the end of 2024, at an estimated cost of about $30m. Delays followed over land acquisition and squatters in 2023, and over new traffic management studies requested by a large business on the road in 2024.

Mr Sweeting has previously said the project could be carried out through a public-private partnership because of its scale.

Mr Sweeting said a broader New Providence road plan, which includes an overpass, would be tabled in the House of Assembly in the coming months. He said officials were considering pricing and dividing the scheme into phases, following work done over the past year and a half.

He previously said the ministry had received recommendations for overpasses to ease congestion on Gladstone Road, though he did not commit to building them.

On the Fresh Creek Bridge in Andros, Mr Sweeting said a structural beam had been shipped and was expected to arrive the following week. The beam will support the bridge from underneath, allowing contractors to reinforce the existing crossing.

Officials have said repairs to the existing bridge would cost about $400,000 and were expected to begin on October 1, taking four to six weeks.

The 50-year-old bridge links Andros Town and Coakley Town. Its closure disrupted electricity restoration, government services, businesses and access to the airport.