The multimillion-dollar Airport Gateway Project advanced last week with another roundabout opened to assist the flow of traffic, just in time for the Christmas holidays. The project is designed to improve the capacity of the entrance road system to Lynden Pindling International Airport (LPIA).
Nassau Airport Development Company's (NAD) Vice President of Maintenance and Engineering Kevin McDonald said motorists should experience less traffic back-up with three newly built roundabouts now open.
"We're trying to get all of the airport staff and other folks who transit through this area accustomed over the next few weeks," McDonald said.
"The main thing with [roundabout number two] is that it is an exit roundabout only and so that is a major change."
Roundabout two open last week Thursday. He continued, "What happened in the past is that [roundabout number three] that leads from Coral Harbour Road would have a significant bottleneck of traffic backed up all the way to the Coral Harbour roundabout."
Roundabout one leads to the entrance of the U.S. departure terminal; roundabout two is located between the Airport Police Station and LPIA, and roundabout three is just in front of the Airport Police Station.
McDonald pointed out that the Airport Gateway Project is following through on a schedule that has been coordinated between the airport gateway crew and police officers. An improvement to traffic flow has already been noticed, he added.
Road workers, signage men, several officers and cyclists from the traffic division have been positioned in the area to assist and monitor traffic, according to Inspector Gregory Johnson of the Airport Traffic Division.
"That combined effort is forcing them into the right direction, learning the roundabout," Johnson told The Nassau Guardian.
"As you know, we only had one exit and now we have two exits -- Coral Harbour Road and the airport exit road -- so that is assisting the traffic that is flowing very well."
Johnson said officers will continue to be stationed in the area for the next two weeks. The government signed a $67 million contract in September 2010 with China Construction America Incorporated (CCA) for the project.
In addition to building the airport highway with nine roundabouts, workers will lay a 24-inch water main that will take water from the west to the east of New Providence. Phase one of the project has already been completed and phase two is underway, according to NAD officials.
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