Welcome improvement

THE OPENING of an elevated section of road at Mosquito Creek is a welcome improvement to one of the choke points of travel from San Fernando to further south in Trinidad. The stretch of roadway, sandwiched between open ocean and a murky creek, has frequently flooded over the last few decades, not only making the road impassable but also splashing corrosive sea water under any vehicles brave enough to make the crossing when the tide rises.

In October 2017, the Ministry of Works took the dramatic step of closing the roadway after flood waters covered the surface and swamped the seawall meant to block the rising waters. Mosquito Creek has flooded more frequently in recent years. Until remedial roadworks had begun, the old seawall had disappeared and even a mild storm sent swells of water rushing onto the roadway.

The road reconstruction has been a project in planning since 2009 as part of the package of road expansion works undertaken by Brazilian construction firm OAS Construtora, a company which was plagued by allegations of corruption and which eventually was declared bankrupt.

The project was part of the proposed highway to Point Fortin expansion which grew from $4 billion in 2009 to $7 billion. By April 2016 Construtora’s operations had collapsed locally, laying off 860 workers and essentially ending works on the partially completed project on the heels of the parent company’s bankruptcy filing in 2015.

Jusamco won a new $280 million bid on Package 5A in May 2018, which includes works from the Godineau Bridge to the Mosquito Creek bridge. The works underway along the stretch of road are necessarily impressive in scale. Massive rock breakwaters have been dumped along the ocean side of the existing roadway and the new road opened last week sits two metres higher than the old one.

Half of the road that’s under construction has been opened to traffic, a two-lane highway split into two to allow bidirectional traffic. It’s a stop-gap measure, but one that has stirred worry about the lack of a proper shoulder or lay-by for traffic.

The concerns are justified, but the Minister of Works has made the right call in opening half of the existing roadway to traffic. The new road construction actually sits in the mangrove, which may bring its own concerns. The creek is the wetland home to the fish and endangered wildfowl of the Oropouche Lagoon.

The temporary roadway isn’t a perfect solution, but it’s definitely superior to the situation as it has existed for more than a century of road travel along that stretch. On completion, the construction project must balance the needs of the travelling public with the sanctity of the environment it has been carved through.