NRA to start Elgin Avenue road works
(CNS): Traffic flows in parts of the capital are set to be disrupted until February next year as major road works begin along one of George Town’s main thoroughfares this month. The Ministry of District Administration, Works, Land and Agriculture has given the go-ahead to begin the Elgin Avenue road expansion related to the new administration building. Works Minister Juliana O’Connor-Connolly said the aim is to improve future traffic flow along the already busy road as well as public safety ahead of the opening of the government’s new office accommodation, situated next to the existing glass house.
“Improvements are critical if we are to facilitate doing business in central George Town. With so many government and commercial offices, as well as banking facilities in the vicinity, Elgin Avenue already experiences heavy peak hour traffic,” the Minister said.
She noted that many public servants who currently work elsewhere will be relocated to the new Elgin Avenue building when it opens.
“That means that clients who normally visit those satellite offices will next year have to attend Elgin Avenue. As a result, traffic volume in the area will doubtless increase, again multiplying existing traffic issues,” O’Connor-Connolly added.
NRA Director Brian Tomlinson said that the project involved widening Elgin Avenue from its current two, to three and four lanes in different locations. “We’ll be adding a turning lane and a mini roundabout at the intersection with Hospital Road,” he said.
He explained that additional upgrades entailed widening Humber Avenue and reconstructing sidewalks to provide a continuous walkway along Elgin Avenue between the Hospital Road and CNB roundabouts.
“Sidewalks will also be fitted with access ramps and driveways for the disabled, and a pedestrian crossing will face the new government administration building,” Tomlinson revealed.
Drainage improvements are slated, to reduce Elgin Avenue’s customary flooding during heavy rainfall.
Tomlinson explained that the roadwork activity will take place at night to minimise inconvenience to the public. Work should be completed by February 2011.
Category: Headline News
Good heavens, another ‘mini-roundabout’??!! Who in the world designs these anomalies and who approves their implementation? I am not an engineer but simple common-sense and physical evidence proves that these ‘dinner plates in the road’ can NEVER work as round-abouts because they are smaller than the vehicles which use them. How can the road planners expect this to work? Don’t they use the roads where these things are in place and see the dysfunctionality?? Has anyone seen these minis on major public roads anywhere else in the world?
No wonder some people from overseas (expats, visitors, whomever) think we’re backward; this is the kind of junk which supports such views. I doubt the Head of the NRA discovered these in his native Iowa, so why implement them here?
Enough with the round-abouts already. Few of the proper-sized ones are designed and marked correctly anyway (thereby contributing to drivers’ confusion and poor use of them) and installing these minis around the place just compounds the problem. What’s wrong with 3-way or 4-way stop junctions?? These have proven to work efficiently at the Hospital junction and West Bay for decades – accident stats can verify.
As you can see from the comments below, and the "like"ing they have received, this is much needed. And if you have trouble with mini-roundabouts, try this…
http://www.istockphoto.com/file_thumbview_approve/4898089/2/istockphoto_4898089-the-magic-roundabout-roadsign-swindon-england.jpg
Or this one: http://www.bbc.co.uk/wiltshire/content/image_galleries/wiltshire_live_search_gallery.shtml?15
Fantastic… that section of road needs some serious work.
Now, how about completing the section of road that runs south from the Smith Road stop lights (cricket field) to the roundabout at the Lindford Pierson Highway?
Bobby T Way; there’s believed to be an Injunction in place by the landowner preventing that work. Like the new unoccupied Walkers Building, there’s a story there waiting to be written
I always thought that was completed! 😉 Honestly I never understood what they were trying to accomplish with that bit of construction — it’ll just be a huge bottleneck anyways as you move from a 4 lane roadway to a 2.