BOG WALK GORGE ROAD RE-OPENED

A section of the re-opened Bog Walk Gorge

Following weeks of closure due to damage from Tropical Storm Gustav, the Bog Walk Gorge road was re-opened on Sunday, October 5, 2008.

Highway 2000 contractors, Bouygues Travaux Publics, were responsible for fixing the road, which was done free of cost in support of the government’s overall post-Gustav restoration efforts.

Patrick Cornu and Lionel Pareira, senior site supervisors for Bouygues, highlighted the fact that the work was done with few hiccups. Sections of the corridor have been heightened and remedial work is scheduled to be done on damaged retaining walls along the river bank.

Work was also done on the Flat Bridge, with the surface on the structure being raised by some 10 centimetres, while some raised and brightly coloured yellow-painted humps were placed along its sides.

As for the overall road surface in the gorge, it emerged as a combination of the traditional asphalt and layers of concrete which, according to the contractors, will be better able to withstand the impact of flood water and debris, which sometimes infiltrate the roadway.

In lauding the work of the contractors, Transport and Works Minister, Mike Henry, said: “We are thankful for this initiative by Bouygues, as it now helps to make the lives of persons who were adversely affected more productive, as they can now travel faster.”

Continuing, Minister Henry noted that every effort would be taken to ensure the preservation of the corridor, since it was a very important link in the transportation network between the island’s south and north coasts.

Following its re-opening on Sunday, scores of motorists were seen using the road, obviously very relieved that they no longer had to use the less appealing thoroughfares of Barry and Sligoville.

The roadway was re-opened ahead of the four-week time frame that was indicated for its repair.