The eagerly awaited Esterley Tibbetts Highway extension officially opened to traffic last week, and it is already bringing some relief to the traffic problem along West Bay Road.
The new road has reduced the time of the weekday commute into George Town significantly, and residents of West Bay and the northern Seven Mile Beach area have reason to celebrate.
However, users of the road must remain mindful of the fact that the road, while open to traffic, is not fully completed, and because of this, it poses a higher safety risk to motorists.
One of the current dangers of the road is insufficient lighting. The government has tried to address this deficiency by only opening the road from 6am to 7pm initially. However, it is still dark when the road first opens in the morning, and it is dark again when the road closes.
In addition, certain subdivisions along the inland side of the Seven Mile Beach corridor have had their traditional access to West Bay Road cut off, meaning residents of these subdivisions – and their visitors – will have to use a least a portion of the new highway at any time of the day to have ingress and egress to homes there.
Although there is signage on the new road, people are unfamiliar with all of its new aspects, and at night it could be even more confusing.
But perhaps the most significant danger to motorists is posed by the temporary chip and spray road. These roads, which usually contain some loose stone chips on the pavement, are not meant to accommodate high speeds. In addition, they are subject to developing potholes when it rains, which are also hazardous.
The government has put a 25-miles-per-hour speed limit on the new road to begin with, and it is vital that motorists stick to that speed, regardless of the time of day. Despite the posted speed limit, it was dismaying to hear that one reckless driver was overtaking cars at high speeds on Friday.
The reason the government has decided to open the road before it was entirely completed is so affected residents can get some immediate relief to the traffic situation. But it only takes one selfish and reckless driver on the uncompleted road to cause a traffic fatality, and no amount of saved time is worth that.
We implore the users of the new Esterley Tibbetts Highway extension to use extreme caution when using the road, and to obey all of the temporary rules put in place with respect of its use for the safety of us all.
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