Belize is a city built upon reclaimed land. The entire Fort George and king's park areas are examples of that, and now once again, that jutting point on the map, is sticking out its nose that much more as one more reclamation project has redrawn the city's eastern limits. After over a year of work, the project has come full circle and the fears were allayed when the boulevard finally materialized. Earlier this week the boulevard was opened to traffic and today we visited to see the final product.
Alfonso Noble Reporting
Traffic flowed elegantly in the new Marine Parade Boulevard today as what may be the most impressive stretch of road in Belize City has now been opened to traffic. But the seamless appearance belies the massive overhaul that was required to get to this finely finished point. For over a year massive civil works have been underway at the site. First, the old Belize City Hospital had to be torn down. Then, Tons upon tons of landfill had to be dumped into the area to reclaim the land. And, of course, there was the constant battle against nature and its currents to keep the fill in place. It amounts to one of the most ambitious civil projects within the strict confines of Belize city
Rick Magana - City Engineer
"We did approximately a thousand feet of single lane carriageway. Approximately a thousand three hundred feet of dual carriageway on existing land and approximately one thousand three hundred feet of new constructed road built on an embankment into the sea."
"Apart from that we have constructed this bus bay in front of the memorial park that can take up about up to twenty buses."
The boulevard also features landscaping complete with 4 cannons that were found in the area where excavation took place. There is also a 'rip-rap seawall' that has boulders placed in front of it to minimize the stress on the seawall from wave action. It also has a median with street lighting and two roundabouts. But while it has an impressive look, Magana says it was a constant struggle with the waves to reclaim about 15 acres of land to bring the area to the state that it is now in.
Rick Magana
"That was a challenge because the tide affected us a lot and there were some areas where the ground was softer than we expected. So materials just kept sinking as we compacted the material and that was basically a challenge for us."
But the challenge was well worth it because this new addition to Belize City will help bring in the tourist greenbacks.
Adrian 'Danny' Madrid - Deputy Mayor; Belize City
"It will help Belize City a lot because Belize as you know has not been a tourists destination. People would just arrive in Belize and go other places. We are hoping that this boulevard will help. It will increase work for us yes, because the Belize City Council will have to maintain it, we'll have to keep it clean which we will. So it will increase work for us but I believe that it will enhance the beauty of the city. It will help tourists to want to visit the area. So I think it is very positive for Belize city."
And more so because it will alleviate the hellish traffic congestion that is caused by tour busses having to navigate the small streets of the City.
Adrian Madrid
"Before buses had to be driven into the city through narrow streets causing a lot of traffic congestion. That's the reason why this boulevard is here."
"From yesterday, today and it continues for a while. If you notice we have our traffic officers stationed in different sections of the boulevard so that they can educate the public, so that they can do the same thing that we are trying to do right now so that the public can understand the new flow of traffic. Our officers are there to direct you."
And while flow is improved Magana says that there will be added stress on the new stretch of road but that was foreseen. In fact, the design will be able to handle the regular traffic as well as the additional flow of tour busses.
Rick Magana
"The roundabouts are concrete, reinforced concrete roundabouts because that is where we have most of the turning radius and more pressure is being applied while the big buses take their turn and that should be... nothing is ever lasting but should last minimum a ten years before it needs any kind of repairs."
" I would just want to appeal to the general pubic. Let's preserve what's ours, this is for Belize and lets preserve it for generations to come."
Reporting for Seven News... Alfonso Noble
The project came in at a cost of 12 million belize dollars. An official opening will be held some time next month. It is named Javier Berbey Garcia Boulevard after the panmanian born developer who developed the reclaimed Bella Vista area and Vista del Mar.