The new road from Blowing Point to Little Harbour has been completed and the six sections of road that were damaged in Hurricane Lenny have now been rehabilitated.

At a press briefing on Friday March 5 Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Infrastructure, Communications and Utilities, Kenn Banks, said he is pleased that both projects are now concluded. He noted that the opening of the new road will provide an alternative access between the ferry terminal and The Valley and in addition will mean the area will be opened up for residential, tourism and commercial development and will increase the value of land considerably.

The new road is a 2 lane carriageway of 6 metres (20 feet) with one metre verges. It is surfaced with 50mm (2 inches) thick asphalt. The finished road also includes new drainage, road signs, road markings, reflectors, and street lighting that will be installed within the next two to three months.

Project Coordinator from DFID (Department for International Development), who has been in Anguilla for the past two and a half years, says the projects have been challenging and frustrating but equally rewarding and he is very pleased with the roads. He thanked the landowners who cooperated readily, the contractors and consultants, the general public for their patience and understanding during construction and Kenn Banks and Paul Battick from the Ministry of Infrastructure for their excellent support.

The new road was built by Dipcon Engineering Services Ltd of Trinidad and Tobago under the direction of Area Director Ian Singh and with Project Manager Freddie Chang. Construction started on June 2 2003 and was originally due for completion at the end of 2003. However, the extra time taken was due to inclement weather, design changes and improvements and the relocation of utilities.
The final construction cost of the road is EC$5,600,000 that was funded by a grant from the European Development Fund. The Government of Anguilla funded the consultant’s design and supervision at a total cost of EC$539,000. The Government also met all the costs associated with the acquisition of land required for the road.

The six roads in the Hurricane Lenny Rehabilitation Project are the Cove Castles road, Sandy Ground, Little Harbour, The Quarter, Island Harbour and East End. The contractor for the roads was C O Williams Construction Ltd from Barbados whose Project Manager was Basil Dathorne and the Consultant’s Resident Engineer, George Fletcher of DLN Consultants. The total cost of construction is EC$7,550,000 and this was funded by a loan from the Caribbean Development Bank. Construction started in January 2003 and has taken 14 months to complete. The finished roads include improved junctions and drainage, new road signs, road markings and speed humps. They are surfaced with 50mm (2 inches) thick asphalt and in addition the Little Harbour Road has a 125mm (5inch) thick by 0.80km (0.5 miles) long reinforced concrete surface.

Officials of the Department of Infrastructure and Road Project personnel

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