Work to expand the Norbert Road has been carried out around electricity poles, moving the project into what should have been its final phase.
Owner of the firm contracted to oversee the scope of works under the Norbert Road rehabilitation project, Rayneau Gajadhar, said his team moved forward with construction after four formal requests for an official cost breakdown – following a quoted estimate of $554,878.86 from the Saint Lucia Electricity Services Limited (LUCELEC) – were denied.
“It’s impossible for us to be paying all those monies out and not know what you’re going to do and what we’re paying for,” Gajadhar said in a video posted to his Facebook page.
Gajadhar’s team has since placed reflectors on the poles to make them visible at night.
In a statement shared by LUCELEC on Wednesday, Managing Director Gilroy Pultie confirmed receipt of Gajadhar’s request for a cost breakdown. According to Pultie, LUCELEC has been in discussions with the contractor and the overseeing ministry over the past two weeks.
“We have subsequently provided further breakdown of the cost. It is under discussion. We expect that the ministry will accept what we have provided, and provide feedback in the next day or two following which we will move on the project,” Pultie said.
LUCELEC says its approach to costing uses standard unit rates for materials and labour.
“The company has a responsibility to manage its cost very prudently otherwise it could translate to the tariff, and one can always argue that LUCELEC can absorb the cost, and we can, but if we were to absorb the cost it would be a cost that we have to pass on to the consumers. Costs like the relocation of lines associated with the roadworks should be treated and passed on to the government, or the agency or the contractor as part of the project.”
He called for more responsible and inclusive planning of projects of that scale.
“Projects like this need to be managed going forward more responsibly, and what I mean by that is there needs to be more planning and coordination amongst all the stakeholders, including LUCELEC, to avoid situations like this where our infrastructure becomes hazards to the public,” said Pultie. “That should never happen again and LUCELEC will do all in its power to ensure that this is avoided going forward.”
Meanwhile, northern residents and daily commuters to the country’s north who have made ample use of the road to avoid gridlock traffic on the Sir Julian R Hunte Highway are voicing concerns about whether safety is being prioritised.
One resident of Bonneterre Gardens, Gros Islet, told St Lucia Times he has regularly relied on Norbert Road to commute between the island’s north and south for years, and before the road was eventually blocked to facilitate reconstruction, he noticed that work was being carried out around the poles.
“I noticed they were literally working around the poles and kept wondering why LUCELEC hadn’t shifted them, because that’s just an accident waiting to happen,” he said. “Now, hearing the back and forth between them and Rayneau Construction & Industrial Products Ltd, it honestly feels like both sides care more about cost than commuters’ safety. It’s disgusting and unfortunate that motorists are being put at risk over a cost dispute. This tells me that money matters more than the safety of motorists. It is really bad optics for both companies.”
The government has been vocal about the intention of by-pass road expansions as a means to help alleviate traffic congestion in the north. However, further delays now appear imminent.
According to LUCELEC, an estimated 21 to 25 electrical poles and parts of the existing distribution network will need to be relocated.
Come on now, the poles should have been removed before the road work started. That’s common sense.
That was a rush rush before elections..poles should have been cleared way before any works