BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – PASSENGERS and pedestrians alike can now anticipate an ease in the congestion of traffic in Basseterre following the official opening of the Frederick Theophilus Williams Highway.
Commonly known as the West Basseterre Bypass road, the new thoroughfare stretches from the Kim Collins Highway in the east to Buckley’s/Olivees in the west and was designed to bypass traffic congestion on the main network of roads in the city centre.
A brief ceremony last Friday (Jan. 15) brought together a number government officials, foreign service diplomats and members from various constituencies to witness the long-awaited official opening.
Director of the Public Works Department, Calvin Pemberton, gave a thorough overview of the construction process of the project, describing the new road as a “highway to progress”.
“The construction of this bypass road along with the implementation of complimentary traffic management measures has provided relief to traffic congestion in the town centre, has improved traffic flow for vehicles using the island main road and has helped to provide unencumbered access to and from RLB International Airport,” Pemberton said.
The highway was named in honour of FT Williams, who served as President of Board of Directors of the Workers’ League. He also served as Chairman of the Tradesmen and Allied Workers Section and was elected to the Legislature in 1956.
Consultants involved in the construction of the bypass road were engaged under a loan agreement to assess the economic viability of undertaking the project. The consultants examined four alternative routes with similar design for the proposed bypass road, but priority was given to the route that had the greatest impact on traffic reduction in the town centre, the least impact on future expansion of the airport and the highest economic benefit to St. Kitts.
The initial West Basseterre Project consisted of a 3.8 km two-lane highway, 6.5 metre wide roads, 2.5 meter shoulders, two junctions, three roundabouts, four bridges and road lights. This original plan came up to US $7 560 000, which was financed by the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB).
As the project progressed, however, it became necessary to approach the CDB for additional funding.
In addressing the gathering, CDB Project Officer O’Reilly Lewis informed that in May 2009, the CDB board of directors approved an additional loan of US $6 290 000 following a request from the government to cover an increased cost in the original contract price. The total CDB loan of the project amounted to US $13 850 000.
The project scope of work eventually included a second bridge over College Ghaut, a link road and two new roundabouts, one at the Shadwell junction and the other at the Buckleys/Olivees junction.
The list of benefits that the highway would bring was also outlined by Prime Minister Hon. Dr. Denzil Douglas, who stated that the new development would improve life in the Federation.
“This highway if a precise manifestation of exactly what my government at the very beginning of this project had set out to do. It is one more example of the social and economic transformations that my government has repeatedly delivered to our beloved Federation, and for as long as we shall live this highway will represent the dramatic improvement in the ease and efficiency and in the functioning of our progressive society,” Douglas said.
The life of the FT Williams Highway spans about six years since the loan agreement was signed in March 2004. By October 2006, there was a ground-breaking ceremony for the new infrastructure days before work on the road began. March 2007 saw the opening of the first portion at the airport; December 2008 saw the opening of the eastern portion and by December 2009 the entire highway was opened for general use.
But the life of the highway has not been an entirely glorious one, as there have been three serious injuries and one death associated with the highway, before the actual opening. On May 14, 2008, the lifeless body of one of the workmen, Vincentian Allick Toney, was dragged from the rubble of a collapsed bridge near the airport. The collapse also caused serious injuries to Mortland Watterton and Ian ‘Shatta’ Warde, both of Guyana.
On January 6, Aris Mendy Santiago was also severely injured while placing construction cones on the road. As Santiago worked, a driver struck him with his vehicle before driving away from the scene of the accident.
There has been no official report made by the Ministry of Public Works regarding the investigation of the bridge collapse, but mention of the death and injuries was made at the end of last week’s ceremony.
