Minister of Works and Infrastructure Jack Warner kicked off a $24 million rehabilitation project on the Solomon Hochoy Highway on Tuesday night, as he called for plenty money to fix the nation's crumbling infrastructure in the 2012 budget. Driving a state-of-the-art milling machine, owned by Junior Sammy Contractors, Warner promised to have the highway rehabilitation repairs done within two weeks by mobilising the contractors to work at nights. Curfew permits were issued to all the night-time workers and Warner said 4.8 kilometres of the highway from Tarouba to Golconda, would be paved. The milling machine which scrapes off the asphalt from the road to be processed for further paving, created a stir among commuters, who marvelled at the sight of millions of dollars of equipment parked along the roadside.
Warner said three such machines would be used at nights so citizens would not have to suffer extensive traffic jams due to paving. Asked what he wanted for the budget, Warner said: "I want to see plenty money, plenty, plenty money for PURE (Programme for Upgrading Roads Efficiency). PURE alone is asking for 1.4 billion to do its work," Warner said. He added: "I want to see money for flood mitigation, landslips, bridges, more traffic wardens, so they can do what the traffic police were supposed to do. "I want to see plenty, plenty money. The money isn't there. I know there is a limited amount of money but hopefully, they will find money for the Mammoral Dam.
"While I am anxious for the other ministers, I want to see all roads in the country fall under a new Road Authority and we will not see guys fixing the road who have no expertise, no equipment or funding and so make the roads worst off. "We have to restructure the Ministry of Works to make it more relevant." He also said work on the Tarouba Link Road would begin Monday. PURE director Hayden Phillip said everything was in place to begin the works. He added that the bypass road was being prepared and final designs were being completed.
