NWA: No cause for concern over Seaview Drive project

Western Bureau:

Concerns being raised by stakeholders in Hanover about plans to rehabilitate the pothole-riddled Seaview Drive in Lucea are unfounded, according to Stephen Shaw, communications manager at the National Works Agency (NWA). He argues that the revised plans actually expand the scope of the project beyond what was originally proposed.

“The revised work along Seaview Drive will not be of any less quality than first indicated by the National Works Agency,” Shaw said in a release from the agency. “In fact, the scope of the work is greater than initially planned.”

“The plan is that 395 metres of the road will be done, as against the 200 metres that was originally planned,” he added.

The comments come amid growing concern over changes to the rehabilitation project for the heavily trafficked roadway. Following a recent stakeholder meeting at which the revised plans were outlined, several prominent stakeholders, including officials of the Hanover Municipal Corporation (HMC), questioned the scope of the work and its ability to address longstanding problems such as flooding whenever it rains.

At the HMC’s most recent monthly meeting, councillors complained that the NWA had altered the original rehabilitation plans and revised the scope of the work, effectively disregarding suggestions and recommendations made at the town hall meeting where the project was first announced.

The changes appeared to catch councillors by surprise. During last Thursday’s meeting, while Lucea Mayor Sheridan Samuels was discussing what had been agreed at the town hall meeting, Chief Engineering Officer Saad Campbell intervened to explain that changes had since been made to the project.

According to Campbell, he became aware of the revised scope of work while attending a Traffic Management Committee meeting, which was also attended by representatives of the HMC.

After hearing Campbell’s explanation, councillors objected to both the changes and the fact that they had not been informed. They subsequently passed a motion calling for a meeting with NWA representatives in the parish to clarify the revisions.

It was in response to those concerns that Shaw sought to reassure stakeholders, insisting that more work will ultimately be carried out along Seaview Drive than was originally planned.

According to Shaw, technical deficiencies with the roadway have contributed to its deterioration, compounded by daily traffic volumes of approximately 15,000 vehicles.

“It appears the members of the monthly municipal corporation meeting were either ill-advised or failed to understand what they were told will be done under the revised works, which is being done as part of the $400 million Sandy Bay to Lucea works under SPARK,” he said.

Stakeholders had initially been told that a $39-million contract had been awarded for remedial work on a section of the roadway before details of the revised plans emerged.

“Under the contract, the contractor, China Harbour Engineering Limited, will be raising the road some 16 inches above the current height. Before doing so, however, the asbestos pipeline will be replaced, geotextile laid, graded base material put down, on top of which will be a stabilised concrete base,” Shaw said.

“The final layer will be the Roller Compacted Concrete. This layer is not Asphaltic Concrete, which the members of the council might have been led to believe,” he added.

Shaw explained that roller-compacted concrete is not weakened by a wet subgrade or by salt and, as such, should prove far more durable than materials used in previous repairs to the thoroughfare.

He added that drain improvement works will also be undertaken and that pipe culverts equipped with non-return tide flaps will be installed along the seawall to prevent seawater from flowing back onto the roadway during periods of high tide.

According to the NWA release, the project is scheduled for completion by January 2027. The agency noted that work will also be carried out during night-time hours to facilitate delivery of the project.

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