Interchange idiocy

The transport infrastructure largely consists of the network of roads and related structures which facilitate the transport of goods and people by vehicular traffic throughout the country. The major urban centres constitute the prime centres of economic activities, and as such, it is only natural that the greatest demand on the road network is in the urban centres and more so the city of Port- of- Spain.

Notwithstanding the continued growth in the economy and increased traffic volume over the last ten years or more the transport infrastructure in the capital city, as is the case throughout the country, has been woefully neglected and is now in a state of crisis.

The question is often asked by both residences and visitors. Do our local engineers lack the capability to provide solutions to the obvious deficiencies in our road transport system? For those who are unaware, the answer is simply that the abject inadequacy of our road system in the capital city and elsewhere has nothing to do with engineering but everything to do with decision making.

Over the last thirty years at least two transport studies have been commissioned and with less than 50% of the recommendations of these two studies being implemented. Another study, this time, encompassing sea, land and air transport has been recently commissioned. Numerous engineering designs of new and improved road network in and around the capital city as well as major new highways and arterial roads have been commissioned, with designs completed and paid for by taxpayers. Yet these fail to see the light of day and are archived at the Central Tenders Board and other Government offices.

In light of the recent decision by the government to embark on the implementation of a mass transit system, it is of interest to consider why our transport system has come to such a sorry state that it requires implementation of a mass transit system even before we have achieved some semblance of a road transport system. When the mass transit system comes to fruition as promised in the next few years, Port-of- Spain will be the first city anywhere in the world with a population of less than one million that has a mass transit system. Major cities everywhere have first sought to explore the available options for development of their road network prior to implementation of mass transit systems - and this is the order in which development of a city’s transport infrastructure takes place.

It has been said that our decision makers do not consider any aspect of the built environment that does not rise above the ground as significant or important, and this applies to the vast amount of engineering infrastructure designs undertaken by our engineers over the last thirty years.

These include the Port-of- Spain drainage study and designs, the east-west corridor sewerage system study and design, the Southern Link Freeway, Piccadilly Street Improvement, Wrightson Road/French Street Intersection and Maraval Parkway, among numerous other roads and infrastructure projects.

However, when it comes to tall edifices our decision makers are only too happy to indulge and there is never any shortage of funding for their implementation.

It is indeed unfortunate that similar importance was not given to development of the road system in and around the capital city on the basis of engineering studies and designs undertaken by our engineers, even before the current mega-structures were conceived.

Major infrastructure works, just like mega structures, cost money.

While creative ways have been found to finance the mega structures, no such effort has been made with regard to the country’s roads and highway system. The inability to do everything to achieve development of the country’s road infrastructure has been taken as the reason to do nothing. No review is made of road projects for which there are existing designs to determine the extent to which phased implementation can be achieved.

Every new administration seeks to create new infrastructure projects and disregards anything done before, so that the cycle of commissioning new engineering designs followed by abandonment of these designs and implementation of projects, contrary to the recommended solutions, continues in perpetuity.

As engineers who are involved in the design of state projects, we are aware that very often when a decision is made to implement a major infrastructure project it is either under-funded, so that the result is a project that is marginal in its design, or it is implemented for visual impact more so than utilitarian purpose. An example of the former would be the Cross-Crossing Interchange in San Fernando and the latter, the Uriah Butler / C R Highway Interchange. With respect to the Churchill Roosevelt Highway, one of the earlier transportation studies determined that this is an urban highway that traverses the densely populated foothills of the east-west corridor.

As a result, there are numerous intersections which dramatically reduce the capacity of this highway to carry the future projected east- bound and south- bound traffic. It was considered exorbitantly costly and therefore unfeasible to improve all the existing intersections in order to upgrade this highway to the capacity required for future traffic, which is the traffic volume at the present time. The feasible alternative recommended by the study was a completely new freeway parallel to and south of the existing CR Highway. This new highway would have commenced at the Barataria Interchange veer southward then eastward and cross the Uriah Butler Highway with a major Interchange immediately north of the existing Caroni River Bridge at which point the south bound traffic would exist.

The highway would then continue east and reconnect with the Churchill Roosevelt Highway at the Macoya Road intersection. The design of this highway to be known as the Southern Link Freeway was commissioned to a consortium consisting of a local and foreign engineering firm in the mid 1980’s. The designs were completed in their entirety and included Environmental Impact Assessment studies, tender documents and construction drawings. These designs are archived somewhere but never reviewed with the possibility for phased implementation.

Notwithstanding the recommendation of the study, the decision makers have embarked on the construction of a major interchange at the Uriah Butler Highway intersection, which, by itself, will not have the impact which the travelling public anticipates. A cursory view of the traffic situation on the CR Highway during the peak periods will reveal the existence of major bottlenecks at the Aranguez Intersection, Valsayn Intersection and at the existing two-lane south bound Bridge over the Caroni River. In the absence of major improvement at these three locations and further beyond, the new interchange by itself will only elevate the current bottleneck to a level above ground. The attractiveness of this interchange to the decision makers could be the fact that it is a structure that rises above the ground and one that would provide a beautiful view that could mitigate the frustration of motorists stuck in the usual traffic jam.

In conclusion, it is noted that at a recent forum called to discuss the Request for Proposal for the mass transit system, two reasons were given for the need for the mass transit system. One is that there is too much traffic on the road and the other is that it would take a long time to construct new highways. We should, however, be reminded that current traffic volumes are not far off from what were projected by earlier transportation studies and that we have arrived at this sorry state because we neglected the development of our road infrastructure.

Importantly, too, is the fact that in an expanding economy a mass transit system would at best result in a levelling off in the rate of growth of passenger vehicles, but not necessarily a negative rate of growth.

One heavy goods vehicle can be equivalent to up to three or four passenger car units and the rate of growth of these vehicles will hardly be impacted by the mass transit system. As a result, mass transit system notwithstanding, we cannot continue to neglect the development of our road infrastructure.