After many months of delay, from the last Government in Anguilla to the present Administration, the planned bypass road at George Hill is now in progress.
The bypass extends along the Wallace Rey Drive, from just west of the bakery to the south of the stoplight, and into the branch-off Jeremiah Gumbs Highway.
The intention is to substantially reduce the daily traffic jams, in the approach to the intersection, which have created a nuisance to motorists and pedestrians travelling along the main road and down the Jeremiah Gumbs Highway. The traffic jams have also posed a difficulty to workers who were obliged to leave their homes earlier than usual to get to their places of employment.
Land acquisition and financial difficulties were the main factors that delayed the bypass road. The Government of Anguilla has now paid the acquisition fees to the landowners – and the necessary funds are now available. The cost of the road work is $188,000.
The bypass road work has created a busy scene involving heavy equipment and filling material. In addition, fully-laden trucks, carrying imported aggregate for the resurfacing of the nearby airport, contributed considerably to the busy stoplight area. This led to public advisories to motorists for careful driving.
The Minister of Infrastructure, Mr. Haydn Hughes, met The Anguillian newspaper at the scene on Tuesday, February 23. “This bypass is very important to alleviate the problem affecting the flow of traffic going towards the west,” he explained. “It provides an opportunity for persons using the George Hill road, and wishing to turn off on the Jeremiah Gumbs Highway, to avoid going through the stoplight. They can bypass the stoplight by taking a left turn, thus alleviating the flow of traffic. This is our overall goal to improve the road network infrastructure – and to have a more easy flow of traffic.”
Mr. Hughes added: “We have contracted Superior Construction and Trucking, of Junie Fleming, to do the bypass road work.”
