Traffic congestion forces night-time roadwork shift on Tortola
Amid mounting public complaints about severe traffic congestion during peak hours, the Ministry of Communication and Works has halted several road projects on Tortola until nighttime. The decision followed directives from Acting Premier Julian Fraser, who apologized to the public for the inconvenience caused.
On Wednesday, November 20, frustrated motorists faced standstill traffic in areas including Districts 1 and 3 due to ongoing roadworks. Speaking on ZBVI Radio, Fraser acknowledged the issue and pledged immediate action.
“Over the course of the morning, I received many calls and messages from motorists intending to traverse the Sea Cows Bay area to go to work or take their kids to school. This is unacceptable, and I apologize to the motoring public,” Fraser stated.
He instructed the Minister for Communication & Works and the Director of Public Works to assess the situation and issue directives, including pausing road works in critical areas.
Minister for Communication and Works Kye Rymer visited the affected sites and confirmed that roadworks near the Sea Cows Bay Community Centre and Paraquita Bay will be suspended until evening hours.
“What we realized after doing the assessment is that it would be best to operate at night,” Rymer said, noting that contractors were initially trying to capitalize on daytime hours to expedite work before expected rainfall in the coming days.
The Ministry has also paused work in Paraquita Bay, with Rymer apologizing to motorists for the disruption.
On Tuesday, November 19, the Ministry had announced ongoing and upcoming roadworks across the territory, including Paraquita Bay to Hodges Creek, Manchester area near the small lookout leading to Michael Potter’s residence, East End Community Centre area, Ridge Road from Great Mountain intersection to Fahie Hill, and Lower Windy Hill leading into Carrot Bay.
With nighttime schedules now in place, officials aim to alleviate congestion while progressing with critical infrastructure improvements.
Copyright 2024 BVI News, Media Expressions Limited. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or distributed.
not proactive.Damage has already been done. Ning could have forecasted this congestion with multiple main roads being restricted at once. thankful they have chosen the night time but SMH…
This should have been done in the first place, a set of brainless people making decisions. Who is the Engineer for these projects?
RDA Project Manager that conducted the Fish Bay project should be responsible for the island wide services
They couldnt organise a piss up in a brewery!!
Common sense should have told them this from the beginning. We are no pt in the 60s when there were few motor vehicles. Smdh.
Premier when will the incompetent Rhymer be fired, 5 years and what has he don’t but patch holes
Do u mean to tell me that during the planning stages nobody thought this might happen?if they making such blunder can u imagine all the other mess ups they make when the public cannot see.BVI is a real special place yes.
This is the what you get when yes man and women who only care about their paycheck and making a certain amount of years for retirement are advising.
You mean even the consultants didn’t see this?
Is it the Minister patching the roads or PWD? PWD boss. They are the ones who seems to not be paying attention to the results of the patching work after heavy rains. What is the engineer at PWD doing?
Hon Fraser to the rescue AGAIN !!!!!!1
@yeah: the hon Fraser is a more capable leader than natalio Wheatley, by far.
Employers should encourage work from home/online where possible until some of the roadworks are completed. Navigating which roads are open plus rough roads is tedious and unproductive.
The word PATCH may suggest some degree of competence that definitely doesn’t exist here, randomly tossing tepid asphalt into unprepared wet muddy holes is a total waste of time and public money yet we continually repeat this process. Who’s benefiting from this , other than the contractors being paid handsomely no doubt, definitely not the poor road user or even poorer tax payer .
It was the lack of notice which came out after the road works had started on Monday. I could not use my car as it was too small to get over the huge ditches they left so had to get a lift into town.
And yesterday morning they were digging up part of the road in Sea Cow Bay which had not been included on the list. So that was 3 parts of the road they were working on. I am going to try to take my car home tonight and pray it does not get stuck.
Y’all just refuse to pay the people them overtime to work late shift and try force all that work during the day
Real non sense them on