The Virgin Islands Recovery and Development Agency (RDA) is ensuring that safety measures are being implemented at the Great Mountain 1 project site in accordance with its requirements and organisational culture of safety.

Safety, traffic and project signs have been erected, traffic management requirements have been implemented, and measures to reduce the flow and speed of vehicle traffic are being executed by the Virgin Islands firm, Autland Heavy Equipment Co. Ltd. The company has completed the setting up of works at the project site and these measures are expected to ensure the safety of workers, motoring public, residents and pedestrians.

The RDA signed a contract with Autland Heavy Equipment Co. Ltd. for the Road Rehabilitation and Slope Stabilisation for Great Mountain 1 project in the amount of $194,000 on July 9.

Director of Programme Strategy at the RDA Mr. Neil Smith said the project will improve the safety of the current road network, which was compromised in various places as a result of the disastrous hurricanes and flooding events of 2017.

“This project will rehabilitate the road surface and stabilise the slope of a highly utilised road in the Virgin Islands for users, particularly heavy loaded vehicles.”

A key safety measure is the reduction of the dual carriage way to a single lane of traffic to ensure continued accessibility for traffic through Great Mountain road during the construction, as this is a main road artery to Road Town.

The scope of works include demolition of existing sections of reinforced concrete pavement, construction of 30 meters of reinforced concrete pavement with asphalt overlay, construction of 22 meters long by 4.5m high reinforced concrete retaining wall, construction of 10 meters long swale drain, construction of 125 meters of reinforced concrete curb walls and the installation of 30 meters of guard rails.

This is the first of nine contracts for Road Rehabilitation and Slope Stabilisation works financed by the Government of the Virgin Islands, through the Caribbean Development Bank’s Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Loan programme. 

The works will be implemented by the Recovery and Development Agency, a statutory body under the Premier’s Office created to execute recovery projects in the Virgin Islands using sound project management principles that delivers value for money.

The other project sites are Great Mountain 2, Little Dix Hill, Hope Hill to Sabbath Hill, Bob’s Gas Station, Long Trench, Fish Bay Road, Ballast Bay and Carrot Bay.

The RDA was officially engaged on December 18, 2019 to execute recovery projects for the Caribbean Development Bank’s Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Loan programme.  Through this funding, the RDA is expected to inject more than $40 million in recovery projects in the Virgin Islands economy over a two-year period with the delivery of 19 projects.