Asphalt plant to be operational by June! Major savings expected
The Public Works Department has announced that the government’s new asphalt plant will be operational by June of this year.
According to Director of Public Works, Jeremy Hodge, the commissioning of the plant, which has been highly anticipated, is expected to bring major savings to the public purse as it relates to conducting roadworks.
Hodge noted that a single 20-yard truck of asphalt costs about $12,000.
“Paving one mile of road 24 feet wide, three inches thick would cost north of $690,000. [But] having our own plant will cost the government one-third of that and will allow the department to work year round on our roads,” he stated.
The Public Works Director further said some of the auxiliary equipment attained in support of the plant were five tanks of oil, equivalent of fifteen 20-yard Public Works trucks; a paver; a roller; and a milling machine used to recycle old asphalt.
Attempts were made to have the plant commissioned by late 2022, but in accordance with the contractual agreement the plant’s manufacturer AMMANN, officials found that further configurations had to be made to the facility based on the decided staging location of the plant.
The plant is currently located in a quarry, and Hodge expressed that he is grateful to proprietors of the area for allowing its operations. He said another location was being sought, as the quarry is extremely dusty.
The director added that the search began in 2021 for a site for the plant, as the department’s compound was too small to accommodate the operations.
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Some old used refurbished equipment from the 90’s
What became of the chinese junk that Mark brought in a few years ago?
Nah man Jeremy; c’mon now man you been PWD for years now and you don’t know the difference? Two (2) feet of road 3” thick cost $690k but a 20 cyd truck is $12k? I see why we have so many damn cost overruns now – the arithmetic is way off. On another note, it appears every (4) years the incumbent minister of MCW purchases the same old refurbished junk to never even get 1 Mike of road paved!! What are we missing here?
Kye wont be the minister for the subject in june TRUST ME!
Dear Mr. Jeremy Hodge,
Please let us not have to wait until June, after 4 years of the incumbent district representative being in office for small sections of the road (Roy Road)- the little hill above the magistrate’s court to be fixed. This road seems to be part of the district 7 roads. It is never completely fixed. It is always in bad shape. A month ago the concrete truck ran out of cement after having done half the job. They placed cones, buckets and concrete bricks in the spaces indicating that there was still work to be done. We wait, and we wait and are still counting the years. All our politicians claim to know how to fix roads and sewerage among other things but after campaign promises they still keep their knowledge a secret. Why? Please Mr. Director we cannot wait on this promise. Please send a cement mixer and a few bags of cement to patch the spaces, and give drivers some confidence in your department. Let us see this road as a road and not some sort of testing ground for motorists to learn to bob and weave. It is too small a road for lots of traffic to begin with. And while you are still the Director at this department please ensure you have trained people to do the jobs. Please, please, please….
roads will still not be fixed
VIP got you trained. Speaking out now as we near election. ALl of you who does get the money got to keep it coming.
…they are about to start putting asphalt band aids all over the roads because we all f***ing stupid and won’t be able to se through their pre-election games.
Who’s going to commission the equipment ? Where are the trained,skilled workers going to come from ?
Why are you being so negative? it is at least a step in the right direction. When we spend so much money on badly fixed roads, we can’t afford to spend money on education where it is badly needed.
PWD good job, please be certain to assign responsible professionals to make sure that the expensive equipment is well cared for.
Word is Ronnie bought it lol
24’/3’ * 3”/36” * 1720 yds / 20 yds * $12000 = $688,000
Mr. Hodge stop tell l**s on your neighbor. But 12,000 . A fully loaded 20 yard truck cost less than 10,000 . N your p.w.d trucks hold between 20 yards to 25 yards of asphalt and with the 25 yards it still doesn’t pass 9,000 . And it’s the same when P.W.D send private trucks . So stop trying make Mr. Ritter look bad . N jus tell us the truth …
You can tell this man have no sense. All you would have to do is move the electrical panel into a room n n get longer wires to go where ever they have to go the location isn’t the problem . Problem is yall have no common sense
Great! More shiny objects for the government to purchase! They will pave about 100 feet of road (24 inces wide) and then the thing break and end up in the bushes for 20 years (check out the old asphalt plant across from Old Yard in Virgin Gorda – for real).