Government U-turn over costly barge for roadworks on Harbour Road
A barge has been brought in to help with roadworks on Harbour Road – something the Government ruled out last month because it would cost $8,000 a day.
On Tuesday morning workers on a construction barge appeared to be tearing away pylons that had been previously installed at the site.
The Ministry of Public Works was contacted on Tuesday about the project – and if the work was expected to stay within the budget – but no comments were received as of press time last night.
The barge still on site yesterday afternoon as work to repair a harbour-side wall continued.
The Ministry had previously said it had not intended to use a barge for the project because the cost would cause the budget to balloon.
A spokesman for the Ministry said in November: “Using a barge was considered but at $8,000 per day this would have doubled the cost of the works and was not therefore considered a viable option.”
The spokesman also revealed at the time that $250,000 had been allocated for the project, of which $160,000 had already been spent.
Work to repair the Lover’s Lane stretch of wall on Harbour Road was announced in late May and started in the first week of June.
The work was scheduled for completion on August 6, but continued past the expected end date.
The work meant traffic flow was limited to a single lane apart from September 28, when both lanes were closed so concrete could be poured.
A spokesman for the Ministry of Public Works said in late October that the project had suffered “significant delays” because of long stretches of bad weather and problems caused by tides.
The spokesman added that a property dispute had complicated the situation, although no details on the dispute or its recent resolution have been released.
The work is now expected to be completed by the end of January.
Residents have complained about the impact of the work on traffic, but further repair works on Harbour Road are scheduled to begin this weekend.
The Ministry of Public Works have announced that work would be carried out near the junction with Belmont Road, and that the area would be closed to traffic on December 18 and 19.
A single lane will be reopened between December 20 and January 8, when the work is expected to be finished.
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