South Highway extension opens today

PRIME MINISTER Patrick Manning will formally open the southern extension of the Solomon Hochoy Highway from Tarouba to Golconda today at 1 pm after which “it will be open to the public.”

Addressing last Thursday’s post-Cabinet news conference at Whitehall, Works Minister Franklyn Khan announced the $162.4 million project’s completion and said it was “totally local” with funding, design and construction being undertaken by the Caribbean Development Bank, Trintoplan and Seeraram Brothers respectively. The Minister said the extension took two years and three months and was well within budget. “The road is a 4.2 km, four-lane highway. It is one of the better pieces of road that we have in Trinidad and Tobago,” a visibly proud Khan said. The Minister also spoke of a series of road-paving works being undertaken on the nation’s highways which will be completed in time for the re-opening of schools today. These include: from Piarco to Piaget Junction by Coosal, the Beetham Highway by Seereram Brothers and the southbound lane of the Uriah Butler Highway by Jusamco. The costs of these respective works are $4.7 million, $2.2 million and $2.3 million. Khan gave an update on ongoing drainage work on the Guayamare River and disclosed that “a major contract has started on the Caroni River itself.” He said this work included the construction of embankments from St Helena to Kelly Village and work on the south bank of the Caroni River. He was optimistic that these works would help to eliminate the perennial flooding which affects Central Trinidad.