Works have begun on the construction of additional lanes along the Sir Solomon Hochoy Highway (SSHH).
This project involves the construction of an additional lane northbound and southbound along SSHH between Brentwood Mall and Chase Village Interchange, road rehabilitation, reconfiguration of traffic lanes, and other ancillary works.
The primary objective of the project is to directly address the challenges associated with traffic congestion in the area.
The project is expected to be completed within the next four months, weather permitting. It has a $65 million cost attached for two packages of works awarded.
The first, which has already started from Chaguanas to Brentwood Mall, is being undertaken by Junior Sammy Construction. On completion of that package, Seeraram Brothers will continue with the second leg from Brentwood Mall to the Chase Village Interchange.
In the specified areas, one lane has already been eliminated to undertake the roadworks, but the shoulder has been converted into a lane.
Works and Transport Minister Rohan Sinanan visited the site on Sunday to view the progress of the work already done. He advised road users to suffer the inconvenience for a bit, promising at the end of the project, they would be very happy, as time and money would be saved.
Sinanan said the intention was to take the additional lane all the way to and from San Fernando and, in the process, address road rehabilitation, reconfiguration of traffic lanes and other ancillary works.
Sinanan said the ministry has earmarked 11 projects, including the one he visited on Sunday, to ensure proper flow of traffic throughout the country. The intention is to spend no more than half an hour getting from one town to the next.
The bottlenecks, he observed, have to do with south- and central-bound traffic coming off four lanes from El Socorro, into three lanes from Grand Bazaar and two lanes to San Fernando.
He said the design, using the median instead of acquiring land at an additional cost has been in the making for a long time. With that initiative, he said, not only will time be shaved off the journey, but there will be financial savings as well.
The new design, he said, would do away with the cable barriers and replace them with concrete Jersey barriers which were more suitable for the highway.