Joshua Seemungal
Senior Multimedia Reporter
joshua.seemungal@guardian.co.tt
Government spends more than half a million dollars repairing roads every day.
According to figures provided by the Ministry of Works and Transport (MOWT), more than $512 million was spent on 287 road repair and improvement projects. On average, that works out to around $602,350 a day.
The information was provided to the Sunday Guardian by the MOWT in response to a Freedom of Information Act request made in January.
It reveals the following:
• Of the 287 road repair and improvement projects between 2021 and April 2023, there were 232 for road rehabilitation, inclusive of culvert reconstruction, concrete, drainage, strengthening, paving, temporary diversions and emergency works. More than $235.1 million was spent on the 232 projects in that category. Each of them, on average, cost the state approximately $1.01 million.
• Six bridge reconstruction and construction projects cost $26.2 million—approximately $4.3 million per project on average.
• 34 slope stabilisation projects cost $77.4 million—approximately $2.3 million per project on average.
• 15 projects listed as traffic management or road improvement measures related to the expansion of existing infrastructure to enhance road capacity/accessibility and to improve the safety of motorists and pedestrians, inclusive of road milling, paving, painting, construction of medians, erection of signs and gangways, cost $155.9 million.
• During that time, the MOWT spent approximately $4.7 billion and another $2.47 billion was allocated for fiscal 2023.
Expenditure on road repair and road improvement projects during the period accounted for approximately 10 per cent of the ministry’s expenditure. Comparatively, in the same period, significantly more money was spent on personnel expenditure ($1 billion) and contract employment ($148 million)—approximately 21 per cent of the ministry’s budget.
Another $1.02 billion (18 per cent) was spent on recurrent expenditure for transfer to the Water Taxi Service, VMCOTT, National Helicopters Limited, Airports Authority, Port Authority, the Public Transportation Service Corporation, and the T&T Civil Aviation Authority.
In fiscal 2021 and 2022, citizens paid $465.87 million in motor vehicle taxes and duties to the MOWT’s Transport Division, $11 billion in income tax was paid to the state by individuals, while non-oil companies paid more than $16.7 billion in taxes.
Between January 2021 and May 11 2023, 62 fixed penalty tickets were issued for goods vehicle carrying excess weight. Transportation engineers and civil engineers, including retired UWI Senior Lecturer in Transportation Engineering Dr Trevor Townsend, have said that overweight vehicles cause significant damage to roads. In justifying an increase in fines for overweight trucks from $750 to $8,000 in his 2022 budget presentation, Imbert said that infrastructure damage sustained by overweight trucks continues to be a major concern.
“One legal truck causes the same amount of damage to a road as approximately 9,600 cars. However, one truck overloaded by over 20 per cent could cause the same amount of damage as 19,000 cars. A truck overloaded by 100 per cent could cause the same damage as 18 legal trucks,” Imbert said.
Poor quality material
President of the Joint Consultative Council Fazir Khan said the quality of materials being used in some rehabilitation projects is poor, resulting in quick deterioration when the road is subjected to even normal traffic loading.
“This is especially evident in central and south Trinidad where some PURE projects utilise what is known in the industry as Guaracara boulders/stones to repair roads. This material is very weak compared to crushed blue limestone, for example, (which comes from the Northern Range quarries) and simply crushes under normal wheel loading from approved truck traffic.
When expensive hot-mix asphalt is laid on top of this poor material, or any poor base and subbase material, we are effectively throwing away public funds for the sake of expediency,” he said.
Khan, a civil engineer, said a lot of the problems with the state of the roads are tied to maintaining the country’s water supply infrastructure, which is the responsibility of WASA, rather than the MOWT.
“This is one of the biggest problems that needs addressing as WASA cannot account for 50 per cent of the water that they produce. I suspect that at least 40 per cent is lost under the roads as the utility companies share the road right of ways with the highways division. If WASA can fix their leaks properly, we will suddenly have better roads,” he said.
Khan said another critical factor in extending the life of the country’s road network is cleaning and maintaining roadside drainage infrastructure on a continuous basis. He believes it is essential that maintenance of the country’s road infrastructure be understood as maintaining the country’s road and drainage infrastructure.
Noting that the majority of roads are flexible pavements with a hot-rolled asphaltic surface layer on top of a crushed blue metal base on top of an aggregate subbase course, he explained: “If there is no drainage infrastructure, or the latter is poorly constructed, or not adequately maintained, the design life of the road substructure becomes compromised.
“So proper attention needs to be paid to the drainage alongside and transverse to the roadways to ensure that the funds expended on road rehabilitation provide good value for money by having some reasonable longevity.”
Road protests
In the last six weeks, there have been several protests in central and south Trinidad about poor road conditions. On Friday, residents and parents of Sacred Heart RC School protested over the poor condition of the road leading to their school on Caratal Road, Gasparillo.
One of the protesting parents asked: “People paying tax, and alyuh can’t give we a little road? Alyuh have no money?
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“It is overbearing. Please, I’m pleading with the councillor, the MP and the Ministry of Works and Transport. I am pleading with alyuh, help the children, they need an education.”
On Tuesday, Cunupia residents blocked Warren Road, saying they had waited too long for the dilapidated road to be repaired. Chaguanas West MP Dinesh Rambally blamed the MOWT, saying several roads in the constituency were in poor condition. In response, Minister Sinanan said the road falls under the jurisdiction of the Tunapuna Piarco Regional Corporation.
In August, Rio Claro and Manzanilla residents protested, while in July, residents of La Pastora Village, Lopinot, blocked the road with debris.
In late July, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley responded to a Los Bajos resident’s appeal for better roads with an apology. He admitted that the road network has deteriorated because of a 30 per cent loss of revenue since 2015 compounded by COVID-19.
“It was a sudden and dramatic and significant loss of revenue, so the first priority was not to maintain a road paving programme. Not that we deliberately didn’t maintain the roads but on the list of priorities—we maintained the main arteries through the Ministry of Works, hundreds of millions of dollars—but the secondary road programme suffered. That I have to admit, that I have to apologise for, and that is the reason for it,” he said.
In fiscal 2023, $993.5 million was allocated to improve the road network, as well as bridges. The amount allocated in fiscal 2023 was $481.5 million more than the amount spent by the ministry between 2021 and April 2023.
$110 million was allocated to the Works and Transport Ministry’s Major Construction/Major Road Rehabilitation Programme For Upgrading Road Efficiency (PURE) Unit.
Business groups: More needs to be done
While the T&T Chamber of Industry and Commerce acknowledged that some work was done to improve traffic flow on the highways and some other roadways, such as in Point Fortin and Toco, more should be done in key areas.
“The poor condition of many main and secondary roads do have negative effects on businesses and all road users. Increased traffic congestion, reduced accessibility, higher costs for vehicle repairs, and safety implications from drivers avoiding poor road surfaces, are just a few of the consequences. These factors can hinder the efficient functioning of businesses and increase operational costs.
“A closer look at the necessity of, and cost options for, regular maintenance of our roadways should be done. Conducting a cost-benefit analysis of different maintenance options is essential in determining the best strategies for road upkeep while considering the long-term benefits.
“In the same breath, the use of technology and innovation for road maintenance and monitoring, such as using data analytics, sensors, and predictive maintenance tools to identify and address issues proactively, should be considered,” the Chamber said.
The group suggested a thorough evaluation of the necessity and cost options for regular maintenance of roadways. The evaluation should take into consideration consistent work by entities such as WASA.
The Chamber added that it is important to engage stakeholders to ensure the country’s road networks adequately support communities.
President of the Greater San Fernando Area Chamber of Commerce Kiran Singh, said road improvement programme brought results in the city, as many roads were problematic before election season, but conditions have improved and are “fairly alright” at the moment.
“We have one or two roads that didn’t get included in the programme, but the roads are not bad overall in downtown. Further south, there are some real bad roads. South Trunk Road, leading up to the traffic light that needs to be addressed,” Singh said.
The MOWT is not the only body responsible for road repairs. The Water and Sewerage Authority and regional corporations also have responsibility for roads and repairs.