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Works Minister Boots Martinez took a public pounding today when the hot mix did not proceed as planned. But he made a modest compensation this afternoon on the Northern Highway. Motorists who must daily use the Northern Highway between Belize City and the Haulover Bridge know all too well just now frustrating the road conditions have been since flood waters devastated a large section of the highway in October. However over the past three weeks the Ministry of Works has been pushing ahead to improve your travel experience along this stretch of the highway and today the final phase commenced. 7NEWS caught up with the Chief Executive Officer Cadet Henderson and the Minister of Works Anthony Boots Martinez as both were on site to oversee the paving.

Cadet Henderson, CEO – Ministry of Works
“Well this our intervention to restore improved riding quality to the area. As you it suffered severe damage following the recent floods. We consider this a temporary intervention. It was felt that we cannot leave it unpaved, waiting for the big project to unfold and even though we have negotiations with the Caribbean Development Bank which has come along very positively, in fact I was in Barbados two weeks ago and we finalized our discussion and we look forward to a major upgrading to a boulevard formation, a complete professional upgrading of from Buttonwood Bay Boulevard to Haulover Bridge plus additional work that we hope to accomplish but the finer details are yet to be worked out. But for now we started the actual paving stage and we’ve just completed the first 1,000 feet. Over the next few days, our Ministry of Works team will continue to repair probably another 800 to 1,000 feet. We also have from the Haulover Bridge, a private contractor doing the same thing, moving on to this end.”

Hon. Anthony Boots Martinez, Minister of Works
“We have raised the level of the road and also to make sure that it is less flood prone, as you know the tropical depression also we learnt a lesson from there that there it is a natural flowing of the water coming over the road. We got a new level now and we will rehabilitating back the Northern Highway.”

Jacqueline Godwin,
So come next year during the hurricane season and God forbids there is another flood, this area should not suffer the damage like what occurred in October?

Hon. Anthony Boots Martinez,
“That’s for sure. That’s for sure, if you notice in some areas the highway is raised almost 2 feet and so in other words we are preparing for the future.”

According to CEO Cadet Henderson, the long term plan is to make the Northern Highway into a four lane. There are also plans to upgrade the section of the highway from the Haulover Bridge to Ladyville Village. According to Henderson, the appraisal for that upgrading will commence in January.