The government’s plan to reconstruct 38 miles of roads over 14 months appears to have hit a dead-end.
In the latest setback, the Ministry of Communications and Works has dramatically downsized a project it recently handed over to the Recovery and Development Agency, cutting nine sections of roadwork to five and dropping West End, Jost Van Dyke and Virgin Gorda.
The roadblock is not the first.
The ministry initially tried to handle the 38-mile project in house, but a controversial tender it launched in November 2023 drew only one bid, for $37 million.
That price tag, which didn’t include asphalt and other materials, led an opposition member to estimate the total cost at some $100 million.
Now, however, that deal is off the table, according to Premier Natalio “Sowande” Wheatley.
“We’re not going to use that [38-mile] tender anymore,” Mr. Wheatley told the Beacon during an interview on Jan. 15. “We’re going to have individual projects and different areas, and we’re going to, I guess, align the projects to the money that we have available.”
RDA takes reins
As part of the new plans, the ministry quietly handed over much of the project to the RDA last year after months of silence.
Last November, the RDA released a Request for Expressions of Interest for the “design and contract management” of nine sections of road that overlapped several parts of the 38-mile project the ministry had tendered a year earlier.
But after the RDA received nine expressions of interest last December, the ministry directed the agency to scale back the initial scope of the project, the RDA announced in a Jan. 31 press release.
“The [RDA], under the direction of the Ministry of Communications and Works, is further refining the scope of the ‘Road Infrastructure Reconstruction Programme’ to focus on the implementation of five critical road projects, including Fort Hill, Joes Hill, Windy Hill, Ridge Road and Pockwood Pond,” the press release stated.
Four other sections of road — West End to Road Town, Nail Bay and Lee Road on Virgin Gorda, and Jost Van Dyke — were sacrificed in the downsizing.
‘Hotspots’ report
The five selected sections of road took priority based on their rankings in the Road Sector Resiliency Index Projects Hotspots Report, which was commissioned by the ministry and completed last June, according to the RDA.
“The report prioritised roads based on hazard exposure, asset vulnerability, traffic volume, and the needs of affected communities,” according to the January press release.
‘Strategic shift’
RDA CEO Anthony McMaster called the downsizing a “strategic shift” that will ensure his agency will be able to dedicate the needed time and effort to the priority areas.
“The territory’s road network has long been under pressure due to heavy use, and we are taking proactive steps to address these challenges,” Mr. McMaster said in the press release. “These projects, with enhanced drainage systems and upgraded infrastructure, will not only resolve current issues but also provide long-term relief for our communities.”
It’s not clear when the four leftover sections of roads may be repaired, but Mr. McMaster told the Beacon the decision is a budgetary one that must be made by the ministry.
“The [RDA] is working in collaboration with the Ministry of Communications and Works, and we obviously develop budgets,” Mr. McMaster said Monday. “Based on those budgets, the ministry prioritises which segments of roads [the RDA] should undertake.”
Though some parts of the Ridge Road have been repaved in recent months, RDA Head of Communication Colene Penn told the Beacon that those works are not part of the agency’s project.
The RDA referred requests for other details, such as how many miles of road will be included in the project, to the ministry.
But the ministry and Communications and Works Minister Kye Rymer did not respond to inquiries before Beacon press time yesterday afternoon.
The original 38-mile plan drew criticism after the tender process the ministry launched in November 2023 attracted only one bid: a $37 million offer submitted by the St. Kitts and Nevis-based company Surrey Paving and Aggregate Limited after three deadline extensions.
The criticism swelled when Mr. Rymer acknowledged last October that the bid didn’t include the price of asphalt and other materials, which often make up more than half the cost of such projects.
At the time, opposition member Marlon Penn estimated that the 38 miles of roadwork would cost some $100 million, and Mr. Rymer did not dispute the figure.
Government officials have said that $36 million is earmarked for roadwork out of a $100 million loan the government signed last October.
Shaun Connolly contributed to this report.