We also asked Moody about another after effect of the twin tropical storms in November - which is the rapidly deteriorated pavement on the highways at the entrance to Belize City:
Evondale Moody, Chief Engineer - MIDH
"Within Belize city, we've seen that we've had some sections that have deteriorated, like on the Philip Goldson near the flour mill, we have two sections there, one by the Flour Mill, and one by SAVE-U."
"But that section will be upgraded using a mixed pavement very shortly because we've signed a contract to upgrade from Buttonwood Bay to the SAVE-U roundabout, and that will be commencing in January. We've already signed a contract for that. The sections that have been damaged on the George Price Highway near the Western Avenue junction, that will be dealt with by the ministry."
Jules Vasquez
"These are chronic problem areas. You know, you all have spent millions recently upgrading the Philip Goldson one, and here we are again, on this stretch coming to Haulover."
"Explain to me these chronic problem areas. And is it that the works are inferior, or is it that the rents are too heavy? Is it some some other exogenous factor."
Evondale Moody, Chief Engineer - MIDH
"So for both sections on the George Price Highway and on the Philip Goldson Highway between miles one and five, both those areas have the same soil strata, that we have on the Phillip Goldson where we have the consolidation occurring. And that is all due to the amount of peat that we have on both highways, because the soil formation is basically stretched from the Philip Wilson Highway all the way across to Old Belize."
"So if we go back to the Philip Goldson Highway, basically the only solution that we have for there is for us to pile the road formation because we have to get to a solid soil strata, which is approximately 40 to 45ft, because that's the amount of peat that we have between the finished road level and where you have maybe bedrock. To do that will be very costly."
"And so the estimate that we have for just the Philip Goldson Highway between the Benny's roundabout and the approach to the Haulover Bridge is approximately $25 million, and that is only for approximately 2.5km of road. So on an interim basis, what the ministry has to do is just continuously rehabilitate the road. Once it settles, we have to go back and start by and build it up back."
