Moonilal wants better signage on San Fernando/Point Fortin Highway

OPPOSITION MP Dr Roodal Moonilal says while the quality of work done on the Solomon Hochoy Highway extension to Point Fortin is great, better signage and safety measures are needed.

He was speaking at a press conference on Sunday morning in Port of Spain.

Moonilal said the UNC is proud of this project as it began under the People's Partnership Government.

However, he said their plan was a highway from Port of Spain to Point Fortin and not what it currently is.

"What they have done is open a highway with four missing pieces," he said.

"When you reach Debe, you can't get to Point Fortin. You'll get to something called the Goolcharan River."

Upon reaching Debe from Port of Spain, he said drivers have to "roam (their) way" by using Waze or Google Maps "to find your way around something called the M2 Ring Road through La Romaine...

"...And find yourself at the Mosquito Crack (sic) (Creek)."

He opted to call the creek this because a section of the roadway there collapsed in early 2022.

Moonilal continued saying there were many more complications in navigating the highway extension, saying drivers unfamiliar with the route had to "find Point Fortin."

Reiterating that he had no complaints about the quality of work, he said government must give attention to the "serious issue" of safety and security there.

"There are no flickering lights, (there are) sharp corners and turns where, if you are not accustomed and not familiar for one reason or another, you will run off the tracks."

He said he used the highway on Saturday and got lost once.

"I ended up in a road with bush on the two sides."

He asked government to think about such incidents happening to other drivers on evenings and nights.

"There is need for proper signage...

"We can't just be coming down on a highway and you only have less than a quarter mile to decide that you have to get on a lane..."

He continued, "There are parts of that highway where there are steep curves. Even when you're driving at moderate speed, you have to exercise more than due care and attention to stay on the roads."

He said an emergency intervention was needed.

There is currently a commission of enquiry (CoE) into this project, appointed in 2019.

It was meant to to look into land acquisition for the project after reported over valuations and more than half a billion spent.

Energy Minister Stuart Young recently revealed that $11 million has been spent so far on the CoE.

Moonilal said there have been no public meetings and no private ones that the public have been told about.

Because of this, he called the spending of $11 million "scandalous" and called for a public independent enquiry into the CoE.