The Airport Gateway Project has fallen slightly behind following the passage of Hurricane Sandy, which dumped up to several inches of rain across the island, however Director of Works John Canton yesterday expressed optimism that the project will be finished on budget and on time by the contractor. The category two storm impacted the country last month, damaging several Family Island roads. But Canton said current road works were spared major damage. "There we some delays but they were fairly minimal," Canton said during a telephone interview with The Guardian. "The contractor was able to minimize any damage to the site and got work to resume pretty quickly. I think we're pretty optimistic.
The good news is we're now in a period of fair weather and the project is expected to progress without any further interruptions. So we're optimistic that we'll continue to make good progress." The government signed a $67 million contract with China Construction America Incorporated for the construction of the project. In fact, Canton said, in the last several weeks the contractor has made significant headway. "Most recently, beginning at Gladstone Road through to the six-legged roundabout, traffic has been moved to the new carriageway, so that the old carriageway can be demolished and another new carriageway built.
So we're on that aspect of the works. This week we're hoping that we're gong to be able to open roundabout six, which is on the junction of Gladstone Road, JFK ( John F. Kennedy Drive) and the new corridor for Baha Mar. Corridor seven will be able to link into JFK," he said. That will be one of nine roundabouts included in the project. The project also includes the construction of a dual carriageway along John F. Kennedy Drive; the rehabilitation of the existing carriageway for east-bound travel; the underground installation of a 24-inch water main that will take water from the west to the east of New Providence; the underground installation of all electrical services and low voltage cables; the relocation of telecommunications and cable infrastructure; dense landscaping and the completion of ancillary work, including drainage, signage, street lights and accesses.
And with only seven months remaining before the expected completion date, Canton added that the contractor is more than halfway through. "In terms of progress, the contractual completion date is June 2013 so we're well in to the contract period now. The contractual period was 18 months, so we're into it," he said. The project will encompass approximately 6.2 miles of road, running from Windsor Field Road to the new six-legged roundabout on John F. Kennedy Drive. As for surprises, Canton said there have been a few.
Most recently, he said the contractor discovered a sinkhole on one of the roads associated with the project and now has the task of filling it in. However, Canton said the cost associated with those challenges have not exceeded the contingency amount in the contract. In total, the project cost the government $72 million. Canton said he doesn't expected the cost of the work to go over that amount.
The project is expected to improve the capacity of the entrance road system to the airport, as there is limited traffic capacity going into the downtown area. It will also strengthen inter-island communication, access and improve the layout of road network design; will enhance the landscaping along the gateway of Lynden Pindling International Airport (LPIA), and will provide safe driving conditions where the alignment of the existing road is irregular. Approximately $20 million will be spent on infrastructure provided by the utility companies. Another $14 million will be spent to import construction materials.
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