Schools across New Providence will open over the next few weeks. Sadly for parents, students and all motorists, really, they will run into the seemingly eternal New Providence Road Improvement Project (NPRIP) and its roving road closures. A particular area of concern will be the Bernard and Village Road intersection. There are many major schools in the area. Along Bernard Road there is Sandilands Primary, St. Augustine's, Kingsway and L.W. Young; and along Village Road there is Queen's College.
These are just a few of the major schools in the area. There are other small independent institutions of learning. If the intersection between Village Road and Bernard Road remains blocked when schools open, there will be gridlock and chaos in eastern New Providence. Tens of thousands of people live in the east and there are only really three ways out - Bernard Road being one way.
What compounds the problem is that thousands of people from other parts of New Providence come into the east to drop their children to school. They especially come into the Bernard and Village Road area. We assume the Ministry of Works and the contractor, Jose Cartellone Construcciones Civiles, are aware of the traffic disaster that would result if that intersection remains closed and under construction when schools open.
While this road project will someday help ease the flow of traffic in New Providence, its construction has caused significant misery, delay and inconvenience. The Free National Movement (FNM) administration unleashed this project on the Bahamian people and the new Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) administration now is responsible for bringing it to completion.
We have heard from the new government that the project is essentially to be done by the end of October with some additional work persisting into 2013. Based on looking at the work, it will not mostly be finished by the end of October. The PLP is falling into the same trap the FNM did. It listens to the projections by the contractor and is making pronouncements the contractor will not meet. The project is likely to finish sometime next year.
That seems reasonable to suggest. It won't be done this year. While they finish the work, we the Bahamian people would like to keep our sanity and not have to leave home at 5:45 a.m. just to take our children to school a few miles down the road. The government must do all it can in these few weeks before schools open to ensure that roadways under construction across New Providence are as passable as possible.
Police are usually out in full force to assist during the busy back-to-school period, but help is needed from the government through the Ministry of Works to prevent havoc in a few weeks. This roadwork debacle is a part of the FNM's legacy, but it is now a PLP problem. We hope the government is tough with the contractor in order to protect the sanity of its people.
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