Works Ministry: Beetham Highway not closed

In a statement , the ministry said this was a misconception because the highway would not be closed and every effort would be made to ensure that the road rehabilitation work will have “minimal negative impact on the commuting public.”

The ministry said road surfacing work on the Beetham Highway will take place over a three-month period. The work has been contracted to Coosal’s Construction Company and Seeraram Brothers Ltd.

The work will include widening of the highway, strengthening of existing failed slow lanes, cold milling for profile correction, drainage/culvert extensions, paving of the entire road and pavement marking. The ministry said phase one of the project will last two months and focus on the area outside of the existing blacktop.

“This should cause minimal congestion to the existing traffic flow,” the ministry added.

Work during this phase will take place during the hours of 9 am and 4 pm.

Phase two will involve strengthening of the highway’s existing slow lanes and cold milling to correct the profile and camber of the thoroughfare.

The ministry said the work is expected to cause “severe traffic” and as such will take place on weekends, with the cold milling scheduled for nights. The ministry noted this phase will begin at the start of school vacation in July, “lessening the impact on vehicular traffic.”

The final phase involves total repaving of the thoroughfare and pavement marking. The ministry said this exercise will take place on weekends with traffic being diverted on to the newly constructed widened section and this phase “is expected to cause minimal inconvenience.”

The ministry reiterated that the Beetham Highway will not be closed during the project which is scheduled for completion in August.