Road works commence on the Philip Goldson Highway

 For the next six months, the Ministry of Infrastructure Development and Housing (MIDH) will be conducting road works on two portions of the Philip Goldson Highway. The projects aim to restore the road’s infrastructure after the stretch of highway was deteriorated and compromised by irregularities in the soil. The remedial works are taking place between the roundabouts at mile 3.5 near Reimer’s Feed Mill and the Haulover Bridge. Efrain Alpuche, Road Inspector within the ministry’s Public Execution Unit, explained that while the project will not be a permanent fix it will provide much-needed relief to motorists traversing the highway. 

Efrain Alpuche, Road Inspector, Ministry of Infrastructure Development and Housing: “This is not a major fix or not a permanent fix. We’ll be working from the Reimers roundabout up to as close to the Haulover Bridge as we can get so that’s roughly about a mile or something of work. So what we’re gonna do is we’ve thrown new levels and then we’re gonna take off the sub base whatever material is not good and replace it with sound materials, good aggregates that bring to compaction and put two coats of chip and seal on it. We all know because of the situation with the ground and all that it can only be a short term fix until we lobby to find the funds and do a more permanent fix and more studies can be done but we probably think maybe about three to five years that this will last. And then another part of the project because there’s a two phase project we’re doing the Reimers roundabout one half inbound to Belize which will be called the right hand side we will be demolishing it, putting in piles, putting in beams and we pour in the concrete to make that stable again and a little bit more level off. The safety of the public so that prompted us to get it done. It’s not safe and it’s a hazard and it’s not a nice driving experience. So for the next six months all we’re asking the public and motorists alike to be mindful with each other, respect the guys out there that are doing their best and the traffic. We have a couple of diversions we’re putting in while the demolition is happening so we ask them to be mindful just be courteous and work along with the people on the ground.”

Alpuche added that apart from improving highway safety and providing jobs to Belizeans these projects help to stimulate the local economy.