A number of road projects in Grand Cayman have been completed faster because crews worked late at night or on weekends to complete them, but those projects also come with an increased cost.
Works and Infrastructure Minister Arden McLean said overtime pay made up as much as 17 per cent of the total cost of certain recent road construction projects such as the repaving of North Sound Way and Eastern Avenue.
For others, like the Esterley-Tibbetts extension, Mr. McLean said overtime costs were kept at about eight per cent of the total project budget. So far, overtime costs on the east-west arterial road have made up just two per cent of the overall budget.
Mr. McLean released details about the projects after Opposition Leader McKeeva Bush asked government whether certain road work was still being carried out on nights and weekends.
‘I don’t really know where the Leader of the Opposition is going with this (question),’ Mr. McLean said during Legislative Assembly debate. ‘Yes, it is going to cost us a little bit more. I don’t think this is a unique phenomenon.’
Mr. McLean said some projects, like the recently completed repaving of Harbour Drive in central George Town, couldn’t be done if they were attempted during the working day.
‘There is no way the Water Authority or the National Roads Authority would have provided such beautiful roads in the central business district Monday through Friday 7am or 8am to 5pm. It’s impossible to do that.’
Mr. McLean said traffic disruption, and temperatures in the mid 90s often make daytime road work more difficult, especially in more heavily congested areas of the island. He said road construction is still carried out during the work week where it is appropriate.
Road resurfacing has recently been completed on Shedden Road, Eastern Avenue, Harbour Drive, Cardinal Avenue, Albert Panton Street, Main Street and Edward Avenue. Mr. McLean said all of that work was done at night or on the weekends.
Bridge construction is still under way on the Esterley Tibbetts Highway between SafeHaven to Raleigh Quay.
Mr. McLean said Crewe Road repaving started on 10 September; repaving work on Walkers Road and Boilers Road is expected to start soon.
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