• BAPE recommends that 3S be asked to provide information on the type of street lighting selected for the project and the analysis carried out to determine the impact of this choice on maintenance and operating costs. They should also be asked to provide details of the wind speed and loads used in the design of these lighting poles and their supports.

4. It was observed that the original 75mm and 100mm conduits for the street lighting were removed and replaced with 50 mm conduits. The larger conduits in the original design would have permitted some redundancy in the cabling installed and therefore improved reliability of the street lights, i.e. a failure on one cable would not result in all lights failing at the same time. BAPE is concerned that the smaller conduits may not permit this level of redundancy.

• 3S should be asked to provide information on the street lighting design and the mitigation measures in place to address this concern.

5. There appears to be limited access across the long stretches of Jersey barriers (concrete median) for Police and Emergency vehicles should the need arise.

• BAPE recommends that some provision be made to allow for access across these barriers in the event of emergencies, and recommends that 3S be asked to address this concern.

6. Understandably, significant effort is being made by the contractors to allow continued use of the highway while construction is in progress. We are however concerned about the lack of safety night lighting and markings, primarily at the round-a-bouts and major junctions.
 

• BAPE recommends that measures be put in place to remedy this situation.

It is important to bear in mind that the foregoing is based on concerns expressed by some of our members who pass the site from time to time, and does not constitute a full engineering review. These queries simply serve to underscore the primary concern BAPE has held from the inception of this project, namely the absence of a technical and economic feasibility study preceding the project.

Perhaps the time has arrived when designs for significant public projects be made easily accessible (e.g. via the Internet) for critical review prior to their construction. The environmental and social impact studies for these projects should be made similarly available.

BAPE is mindful of its obligation to highlight issues which it believes present a potential threat to public safety. The design of all projects, particularly large, public infrastructure projects, should be critically reviewed before construction starts. One likely outcome of the failure to ensure the project has been planned using sound technical and financial principles is an increase in cost beyond the planned budget, when deficiencies must be corrected, or additional work is forced to be added to the scope.

 
THE BARBADOS ASSOCIATION OF PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERS
Roger Blackman
President – BAPE
www.bape.org