The work planned for Carifesta and Homestretch avenues will see the roads being upgraded to accommodate additional lanes, catering to increased traffic, Public Works Minister Juan Edghill said.
“We will be widening to accommodate four lanes so as to improve traffic flow and connectivity. It won’t be a four-lane highway with a median but a road with four lanes of traffic with markings,” he said, as he expanded on the work planned for Homestretch Avenue.
Meanwhile, the heavily trafficked Carifesta Avenue will be upgraded to accommodate three lanes.
“There will be an additional lane on the northern carriageway and we will be putting in a concrete drain and a pedestrian walkway. We won’t be widening the southern side at this time because we have to keep that lane open for traffic while working,” he said.
According to Edghill, it is necessary to do the work now as there has been some deterioration.
The Ministry of Public Works invited bids for the projects in a newspaper advertisement on February 19..
The rehabilitation and upgrades are pegged at $453 million for Carifesta Avenue and $290 million for Homestretch Avenue. Bids are to be opened on March 15.
Carifesta Avenue was last upgraded in 2016 under the APNU+AFC government. That revamp included a divider down the middle with street lights on both sides, and openings at critical access points. The widening of the northern carriageway was also part of that upgrade, but was abandoned owing to cost and other considerations.
Back then, the supervising engineer Sherod Parkinson had explained that they were having a difficult time with GTT over removing its utility poles to facilitate the extension.
The then Ministry of Public Infrastructure had said that the project was divided into two lots; H Nauth and Sons was awarded the contract for the road expansion, while Dynamic Engineering was in charge of the electrical work and installation of lights.
