Govt planning four walkovers in Port-of-Spain By Verne Burnett Thursday, June 5 2014 DIRECTOR of Highways in the Ministry of Works, Roger Ganesh, says the ministry is considering the design and construction of at least four walkovers along the Beetham Highway and Wrightson Road in Port-of-Spain, including one at Sea Lots (at the Central Market), where a level pedestrian crossing is currently in operation. He said Sea Lots residents will use the walkover at the Central Market although the exact location hasn’t been worked out as yet. He said it depends on the amount of utilities which will have to be relocated. Another walkover will be at the Port-of-Spain Ferry Terminal; another lower down on Wrightson Road and another at MovieTowne. “We don’t want to do one at a time because the challenge there is that there are a lot of utilities overhead and below ground in that area. In fact there is a density of utilities above and below ground that you wouldn’t see. You have TTEC cables, in fact we have a very sensitive T&TEC cable in that area; you have WASA lines — if we have to do any road widening, any road construction work in that area we have to relocate a lot of WASA lines. We also have the gas line — National Gas Company (NGC) gas line — (and) we have TSTT ducting both in the road and overhead. So the challenge basically there is the amount of utilities that we have to relocate aboveground, below ground, in order to get the clearance we need to build the walkover there,” he said in a recent telephone interview with Newsday. According to Ganesh, “There have been consultations with the utilities.” He added, “Of course, utility relocation will cost a very, very tidy sum because presently when we are doing any major civil engineering works, utility relocation costs as much as 20 percent sometimes of the cost of the actual civil works that is being done. So on average we spend, say, ten percent of the cost of any civil engineering works in the Port-of-Spain area or anywhere we have a high density of utilities. So the real challenge is dealing with these utilities, relocating them out of the zone of construction so we have the clearance for when the cranes come in to launch these (steel) beams and the piles because we need to maintain clearance from the overhead lines as well.” He said maintaining a clearance from the overhead lines during the construction of the walkovers will be another challenge for the project. He said the ministry will have to choose carefully a design concept that is compatible with the clearances it is seeking. “That is why we don’t want to do one at a time. We want to do all four so that when we do the design for all four they will be the same and we will be able to achieve economies of scale which will make the cost much lower than if we did them individually.” While it may appear to be taking a long time, Ganesh said that is because there are a lot of challenges to be overcome. In addition to the utilities, there is also the problem of sewer lines, because, “the deeper we go we also have to consider sewer lines. We can’t go too shallow because we have shallow utilities. Whatever design we use will be chosen to minimise interference with the utilities and sewer lines in and around Port-of-Spain. He said the ministry hopes to complete all the design work within the next three to four months. Once the designs are completed, then experts will have to lay out the detailed drawings and do the costing before going out to tender for the construction of the walkovers. He added that the ministry is building walkovers in other areas of the country, including a major one as part of the Diego Martin Highway Expansion Project. That project will provide an additional two lanes coming out of Diego Martin. Ganesh said the walkover to be installed there is currently being designed. It will be located at the Starlite Shopping Plaza in Diego Martin and will extend from Cuthbert Terrace to the vicinity of Franklin Road. He said this walkover is now being designed and construction should start in about two months. newsday.co.tt/politics/0,195780.html
Posted on: Thu, 05 Jun 2014 12:28:58 +0000
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