A section of the Kitty Public Road will be closed to vehicular traffic from Wednesday for a period of four weeks as the Ministry of Public Infrastructure extends ongoing works to repair culverts at Vlissengen Road and Carifesta Avenue.
A statement issued yesterday by the Ministry of Public Infrastructure informed that the project has moved beyond its first stage, which comprised works being undertaken on the sinkhole that had developed in the vicinity of the Kitty Pump Station. This first stage was completed last month.
It added that the first part of the four-part second stage of the project was recently started and, currently, extensive culvert works are being executed just south of the Kitty Public Road and east of Vlissengen Road.
The second phase of the second stage will commence this week. This second phase will see the extension of the works, from south of the Kitty Public Road to north of it, just up to the start of the Rupert Craig Highway. As a result, the ministry said the public road will be closed from west of Queen Street, Kitty (in the vicinity of the Guyoil Gas Station) up to the junction at Vlissengen Road, from Wednesday, August 23, 2017 to September 20, 2017, and it encouraged road users to utilise alternative routes. These include Sheriff Street, which was recommended for all heavy duty vehicles, such as trucks and low-bed trailers, Church Road, Earl’s Avenue, Pere Street and Queen Street.
The ministry acknowledged the inconvenience the closure will cause but emphasised that the project is a crucial one. “Ultimately, we’re executing this project with public safety in mind,” Geoffrey Vaughn, Chief Works Officer of the Work Services Group explained. “Yes, the public will be inconvenienced and, of course, this closure will lead to some amount of frustration. We understand that and we apologise for that. However, we must stress to the general public that these works are absolutely necessary if we are going to ensure that our road users are traversing along a road that is safe. Our primary focus will always be the safety of our country’s citizens,” Vaughn added.
The ministry further advised road users that this phase of the project will not require the closure of the Rupert Craig Highway to eastbound traffic in the vicinity of the junction at Vlissengen Road.
