East Street and Bamboo Boulevard improvements in progress

Traffic at East Street and Bamboo Boulevard has been diverted as milling of the existing pavement is carried out to the junction at East Street and Bamboo Boulevard.

Nassau, Bahamas — Bahamians can look forward to a signalized four-way junction that offers a smoother flow of traffic when the roadworks underway at the junction of Bamboo Boulevard and East Street are completed.

Charlene Collie-Harris, Project Engineer in the Project Execution Unit (PEU) of the Ministry of Public Works and Transport explained that the junction will be realigned with Zion Boulevard to cause a more “direct” movement of traffic.

Other improvements include drainage works, sidewalks, curbing, new road construction, new pavements and proper street lighting.

The work is a continuation of the New Providence Road Improvement Project, a major component of the New Providence Transport Program that is funded by the Inter-American Development Bank and the Government of The Bahamas. The project is managed by the PEU of the Ministry of Works.

The Government signed a $120 million contract with Jose Cartellone Construcciones Civiles of Argentina in December of 2008 to complete the project.

The objectives of the project are to improve the road network by construction of new road corridors, reconstruction of existing road corridors and improvement of major intersections.

Mrs. Collie-Harris said the contractor is “aggressively” moving forward with the progress of construction of the corridor with milling of the existing pavement.

Motorists can expect sections of the junction at East Street and Bamboo Boulevard to be temporarily closed. Those travelling southbound of East Street are advised to use the one lane traffic system and those travelling northbound should divert through Valencia Drive and exit through Zion Boulevard on to East Street .

“We’re asking the public to exercise patience and cooperation and to plan their journeys ahead of time. Traffic would be backed up at times, but the Police Station at South Beach is assisting us to ensure that traffic moves smoothly.

Mrs Collie-Harris said flyers have been distributed to residents of the community of Bamboo Boulevard and East Street to inform them of the roadworks.

“We have gone door to door in the local community advising the public on what will take place. We have also partnered with the local police to assist us in ensuring that the traffic management scheme is adhered to and we are progressing towards information meetings and radio announcements to keep the public informed,” she added.