Roads constructed to international standards and designed with international specifications are expensive, said Francis Clarke, senior civil engineer at the Ministry of Works. Clarke compared the price of pristine roads like John F. Kennedy Drive and others constructed around 2008, to those known to undergo a cycle of pothole refilling.

Clarke, who spoke about roads and road work during the Office of the Prime Ministers' weekly press briefing, said there are plans to resurface some roads that would lead to better surfaces in the short term. But he warned that rain is the culprit behind the vexing issue of potholes in the country.

He said, though, that roads constructed to international standards, like John F. Kennedy Drive and others that were part of the New Providence Road Improvement Project, have stood up to a decade or more of rain and remain relatively unscathed.

"Infrastructure improvement is very expensive," said Clarke. "One of the things we learned during the José Cartellone Construcciones project is that once we start to excavate, we don't only take into consideration what's on top of the surface like asphalt, the sidewalks, street lamps, but what's below the surface.

"We have to ensure that the water lines, sewer lines, telecommunication lines are all in ducts, so should there be any need to repair, they would not have to excavate, they would just pull those out of the ducts. So, yes, road construction is expensive."

The roads that are next on the list to be given the international standard treatment are the Milo Butler Highway extension, that will run from Carmichael Road to Cowpen Road; and the widening and improvement of Gladstone Road, Clarke said.

He said the Milo Butler extension could cost taxpayers about $30 million, while Gladstone Road is expected to cost around the same.

Clarke warned that the cost of the Milo Butler extension has likely increased.

He explained that in regards to the other roads, private contractors will be used to stabilize them.

"Due to the current roadway conditions at this time, we would need to utilize private contractors to help us stabilize these roads," said Clarke.

"Now these roads I'm speaking about that we need to stabilize, it's just really paving or resurfacing, they are not going to be constructed to international standards. But paving them will extend the pavement life to about eight to ten years."

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