The Ministry of Works may not be as high profiled as the Ministry of Health was for Joe Coye but that's not stopping him from getting his photo ops and that's what he took today when he made an on-site inspection of the by-pass project in Orange Walk. Coye along with Officials from the ministry of works today took a tour of the 5 mile stretch of road that is under construction to the east of Orange Walk Town. Nearing completion, here's what it looks like and what it will do.
Alfonso Noble Reporting,
It's $22.7 million worth of road amounting to a 5-mile stretch running parallel to the Northern Highway between miles 52 and 57. The investment is being made to alleviate traffic congestion, road deterioration and overall making travel through Orange Walk Town safer. Minister of Works Hon. Joe Coye explains the strategy behind pushing the 5-mile stretch of the Northern Highway, east.
Hon. Jose Coye, Minister of Works
"The highway was one time, still right now, running through the town of Orange Walk and obviously that poses a risk to the residents. Secondly we find that the road is extremely narrow and this is an area where there is a substantial amount of industrial and commercial apart from social activities; the movement of transports coming from imports and of course from the sugar industry. So the decision was taken that we have to move that highway from out of the town. To go west would have been cheaper but to go west would have been repeating the mistake; we would have been going west to build again right through a highly residential area. So the decision was to come east which would cost us a bit more because we have to build two bridges and after $22.7 million invested in this the two bridges will take up about over 50%. But we believe in the long run the benefits will cover it."
That's because the bustle of Orange Walk Town's traffic will be minimized especially when cane trucks and other highway traffic is diverted into the new stretch of highway. But while that's the up side it comes with a hefty price tag. Coye says it may be expensive but the investment must be made.
Hon. Jose Coye,
"We are doing it now and we are doing it by taking a chance; we are doing it at a calculated risk. We are saying if we invest now and create an enabling environment in the infrastructure side, the productive sector can develop. So in the short run we will feel some pains no doubt; there will be some pressure in the budget in the short term. But in the medium to the long term the recurrent will come and the warrants of a tax system through the goods wll allow us to manage the debt."
Manage the debt and that's justified at least here in Orange Walk where the investment is clear to be seen and the strategy is more than practical.
The bypass should be finished by the end of August.