PM, stop this recklesswaste of public funds

THE EDITOR: The Government has recently revealed plans for a major road project at the entrance to the Diego Martin valley. A massive new flyover is to be built, which ostensibly will allow traffic coming out of the valley on the Diego Martin Highway to swing west opposite the Victoria Keys development, and via the existing traffic lights outside West Mall to access the Chaguaramas peninsula.

Why on earth is this expensive project being done? Is there a problem here? Right now vehicles coming out of Diego Martin on both the main road and the highway can easily go west by turning right at the Four Roads traffic lights on to Morne Coco Road. Is it that traffic studies have shown that this route is incapable of handling the large volume of traffic going west? I think not.

Further, I would suggest that even if this new flyover did allow more rapid access to westbound traffic, this would result in no improvement whatever, as these vehicles would run straight into the traffic congestion just before Goodwood Park, where the Western Main Road narrows from four lanes to two.

On further investigation, however, the real reason for the construction of the new flyover has emerged. It turns out that the Diego Martin Regional Corporation (DMRC) has decided in its wisdom to construct a huge new administration building for its officials, and further to locate this expensive vanity project on a portion of the vacant land north of West Mall, thus reducing the size of the West Park Savannah currently being built there.

The problem however is that currently there is no access to this site from Diego Martin. So, the shocking real reason for the highway overpass is to allow the DMRC officials to get to their new offices, via a mini-roundabout on the road between the overpass and the Western Main Road, specially constructed for this purpose.

So, we the taxpayers are asked to foot the bill for two hugely expensive projects, which will undoubtedly run into hundreds of millions of dollars: a new DMRC administration building, plus what is in effect a hugely expensive access road to this new facility.

I appeal to the Prime Minister, in whose constituency this expenditure is being planned, as well as the Minister of Finance, who will have to find the money, to put a stop right away to this reckless waste of public funds.

Unquestionably, what is required in the northwest peninsula is improved access to Chaguaramas, given the rapid recent increase in both leisure and commercial activity in that area.

These days there is a traffic jam on the Western Main Road every day, all day. Apart from the inconvenience to citizens, this represents a huge security risk in terms of rapid deployment of the coast guard and Defence Force, who are effectively marooned at the end of this road.

Forget the grandiose plans of bridges and causeways, the most important and urgent project needed in the West is the dualling of the Western Main Road all the way to Chaguaramas.

I appeal to the Prime Minister to intervene right away in this matter, to ensure that we get our priorities right.

GARY N VOSS

via e-mail