Not ten years ago - Holy Emmanuel Street - which is behind the government complex building in Belize City - was at the far Southwestern end of the city.
Well now, Holy Emmanuel is only the road to the far end - west of Holy Emmanuel, you've got the Gungulung Extension which pushes up against Chetumal Street South - the landing area for the new Belama bridge.
And that road is now fully paved - with a double coat chip and seal which cost two hundred thousand dollars.
It's an initiative of the Area Representative Mark King paid for by the City Council - which, to its credit, has gone very light on self-promotion - even after concrete paving close to twenty streets.
But Mayor Darrell Bradley's path crossed with that of a career politician, Mark King today - so it was lights, camera, action on Holy Emmanuel Street today where King explained that the new street is a gateway to Lake - I.
Hon. Mark King - Lake Independence Area Representative
"It is the gateway to Lake Independence. As a matter of fact, it connects the Mahogany Street Extension now to that additional part of Lake Independence, which we call the 'Gungulung' and 'Gungulung Extension'. But more importantly, it also connects 4 other hubs, which will be the Belama area, the Chetumal Street Area - which we will have a lot of development coming in soon - and it also connects and is paved to the Western Highway. So, it brings all that burden of traffic here off the Mahogany Street, and we can utilize the Western Highway for them to come in to this port. This was an old dusty street. Actually, it was a nuisance to the residents here. It caused a lot of dust to get into people's houses. When it rained, the kids can't reach to the main. They had to trek through mud and water. And if you look along the street, we've done proper drainage all the way with culverts, which means that there will no longer be flooding in this area."
Darrell Bradley - Mayor, Belize City Council
"If you noticed, at the back of the street, there is a canal, and so, the contractor put in about 16 culverts, and they drained the street properly so that they water would flow into the canal, so that we wouldn't have that problem in terms of wear and tear for the short period of time that you saw along Orange Street."
Jules Vasquez
"You have an area behind there, beyond this street, when you cross the little creek that they have there, which doesn't have electricity, running water, and it's like the fourth world back there. People have made their lives behind there; they just cleared out the land. Is there any plan for that larger area?"
Hon. Mark King
"Jules, as a matter of fact, we are standing on the plan. We are standing on the plan today simply because without this road, we cannot get the equipment that we want to get in there to help those people. A major infrastracture for that area is in the process as we speak."
Jules Vasquez
"Will the citizens of this area, who are unemployed, be given an opportunity to work in those projects - be given priority to work in those projects."
Hon. Mark King
"As a matter of fact, 25 unemployed persons from Lake Independence worked on this street, digging out drains, helping with the laying down of materials, and so forth. We also collaborated with the City Council, and they have been giving other members from Lake Independence access to jobs. Under poverty alleviation, which is my ministry, I have given about 50 jobs already, and I am seeking within the next 6 months or so, to give out 100 more in this area."
Holy Emmanuel is half mile long and extends westward from La Croix Boulevard to the Western highway where it exits at mile two and a half.
The contract was awarded to RJB Construction - Romel Berges's company.
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