By Lesroy W. Williams Observer Reporter
(Basseterre, St. Kitts)”A section of the West Basseterre – By pass Road was opened to motorists on Dec. 6 with the promise of making Basseterre more accessible by cutting down on traffic congestion. The road runs from the area of the Robert L. Bradshaw International Airport round-a-bout at the junction of the Kim Collins Highway to the round-a-bout at Gillard’s Service Station, which leads to St. Peters. A press release from the Communication’s Unit of the Office of the Prime Minister stated that the section of the road that is open to motorists is 47 percent of the total project and is 1.8 kilometers or 1.118 miles. The EC$18 million West Basseterre – By Pass Road is designed to link the western part of St. Kitts via Camps Village to the rest of the island, By passing downtown Basseterre and allowing, hopefully, easier and safer road journeys, in less time and less traffic, the press release stated. The bridge was supposed to be completed in August of this year, but it collapsed while under construction, resulting in a major setback. The collapse killed Vincentian national Allick Toney, 64, and injured Guyanese nationals, Ian “Shatta” Warde and Murtland “Pace” Watterton on May 14 of this year. The contractor for the building of the bridge is Professional Technologies (Anguilla) Ltd and the engineering firm is Halcrow Group Ltd. A promised report into the investigation of the fatal bridge collapse is yet to be released to the public. On Nov. 13 at a press conference at Needsmust Power Station, Minister of Public Works and Utilities, the Hon. Earl Assim Martin, said that he was in possession of the final report of the investigation into the bridge collapse, which was due to be presented to the public three weeks ago. The report was not presented and the media was given no reasons for the delay. Press Secretary, Erasmus Williams, said that official opening ceremony of the road will take place at a later date.
