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Delivering Drainage For Flood Prone City Neighborhood
Mon, August 25, 2014
Drainage is a major problem in Belize City generally, more so with climate change, and even more so with those fancy new streets that were built without drainage.

But that drainage should improve: Today the Ministry of Works and Transport along with their partners in the Flood Mitigation Infrastructure Project signed 4 contracts for the concreting and lining of the Douglas Jones Canal, North side Canal as well as Link Road, Apollo Street and the Bill Lindo Canal in Belama Phases 3 and 4. Chief Engineer of the Ministry of Works and Transport, explained the importance of the upgrade:

Courtney Weatherburne
"In terms of the infrastructure, do these factor in the climate change mitigation feature?"

Lennox Bradley, Chief Engineer, Min. of Works and Transport
"You brought up a very good point because the recent projects that we have started to design - all those IFI funded projects and those that we contemplate under the national infrastructure program will consider the climate change impact. It's a reality that we have to face now - it's here. We all know that a road that is constructed without drainage won't last, so the drainage has to be a complimentary part of the road construction. The actual works that we are contemplating under the flood infrastructure mitigation program which is being jointly by the IDB and the government of Belize does look at climate change impacts and does look at mitigating the flood issue in Belize City. The main objective of the project is trying to mitigate the flood events in there, it's not to stop it because we all know the reality is that Belize is at maybe one foot in some areas above sea level, so flooding will be an issue. But what we hope to achieve with the flood mitigation infrastructure program is to try reduce the duration and the impact from the flooding in the area."

The cost of the 4 contracts is $5,718,455.77. The Flood Mitigation Infrastructure Project is scheduled to end in 2016.

Bradley also updated us on other major projects - including the sugar roads - as the cane season is finished and preparations are being made for another:

Lennox Bradley, Chief Engineer, Min. of Works and Transport
"The sugar if I could put it this way it's under the accompanying measures for sugar; it's sort of a grunt agreement that the government of Belize has with the European Union and it's over a time period. They have a set list of road that they will upgrade. The process is ongoing. Several roads have already been completed in both Orange Walk and Corozal Districts. In the past we had some of the roads upgraded to an unpaved standard, but because of the resilience issues that you all brought up we have made a change to the design and we are upgrading all sugar roads under the program to pave standard."

There are also major plans for the Haulover Bridge - which is a CDB funded project:

Lennox Bradley, Chief Engineer, Min. of Works and Transport
"The government does have a plan for the highways and we are giving it priority. In terms of the Belize District area, we have three sections of that northern highway that the government is quite advance with the IFIs to upgrade to pave standard and as part of those three sections the Haulover Bridge will be replaced. We will have a new Haulover Bridge there and what we intend to do with the existing Haulover Bridge is to repair that because the structural integrity is still at a level where we could use and we will try to use it elsewhere within the country."

And highways generally will also see improvement:

Lennox Bradley, Chief Engineer, Min. of Works and Transport
"The southern highway is fairly in good shape, the Hummingbird highway, action has already been taken by the government to really improve the entire 55 miles. The George Price Highway, we have the section between Belize City and Belmopan that the CDB is upgrading to improve safety and now the IDB will be improving from Belmopan to the border, so I could say that within the next 4 years all our national highway system supposed to be at a very improved standard."

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