AT THE CONTRACT SIGNING FOR THE COMPLETION OF THE NEW PROVIDENCE ROAD IMPROVEMENT PROJECT (CNPRIP)
SLICE 3B - EXTENSION OF MILO BUTLER HIGHWAY & EXISTING MILO BUTLER IMPROVEMENTS

4:00PM on 27th FEBRUARY 2007

FIRE TRAIL ROAD & MILO BUTLER HIGHWAY

Ladies and Gentlemen, the purpose of this afternoon’s gathering is to execute a contract for the completion of the  Milo Butler Highway and its extension from Fire Trail Road to Carmichael Road just to the south of this site.

As you are aware,  the Milo Butler Highway is named in honour of our late National Hero, Sir Milo Bolton Butler  who became the first Bahamian Governor-General in 1973 upon The Bahamas gaining its independence.  Long before the Progressive Liberal Party came into being in 1953 he was at our political helm fighting against social injustices in our Bahamaland. He began his social activism without any fanfare in the 1930s through his frequent hospital visits, where he distributed gifts to the shut-ins. This benevolent work prefigured a larger role for Milo Butler who at the time wanted to do the greatest good for the greatest number of people, whom he described as the "down trodden.”.

The injustices against which he fought, at the time were greed, segregation, the plural vote, low wages, resistance to trade unions, and collective bargaining, and the uncaring attitude among the elected representatives toward the masses. Although he came from humble beginnings, with limited education and finance, Milo Bolton Butler was determined to win a seat in the House of Assembly as he continued to challenge the minority white oligarchy head-on.

Milo Butler was elected to the House of Assembly in 1936 and served with distinction until 1972 and as I noted earlier was appointed the first Governor General of a free and sovereign independent Commonwealth of the Bahamas on July 10th, 1973.
Sir Milo is still fondly remembered by many Bahamians and in particular the residents of the Bain Town portion of the constituency that I have had the honour to represent in Parliament for many years.

At his swearing-in ceremony the then Sir Milo Butler said: "The future of The Bahamas as a nation will be achieved only by the practical application of the principles of Christianity, unity and the rule of law and hard work”.    Now is the time for all of us to work hard and show the world the mettle which we are made of.  I am proud to note that from 1973 to 2007  Bahamians have boldly demonstrated in a grand and magnificent manner the mettle of which our people are made.

As was the case with the work on the Tonique Williams-Darling Highway and the Baillou Hill Road Expansion, the Government has taken the construction of this portion of roadway out of the overall New Providence Roads Improvement Project which totaled 19 corridors.

Tendering the works on a smaller scale, is preferable as it makes the project more attractive to a larger number of medium sized international companies and it also allow local Companies to qualify to complete a sizeable amount of the works.

It should however be noted that tendering the project on the basis of smaller slices does have the disadvantage of duplication of contractor’s mobilization costs. Further, this method creates an increased level of contract administration costs.  However we think that the benefits of completing NPRIP using both local and International contractors will be tremendous, as it affords our local contractors the opportunity to bid on and carry out road work at the internationally set standards.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I am obliged to remind you  that the  former administration original intent was to allow Bahamians to execute the badly needed improvements to New Providence Roads but later recanted and accepted the imposed conditions of foreign owned contractors only.

The British company Associated Asphalt which the FNM Administration  selected went bankrupt in 2002, which  could be considered to be a  blessing in disguise as it presented an opportunity for Bahamian contractors to be allowed to prove their capability of building in strict compliance to the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) specifications.

Perry Christie’s PLP Government which strongly believed in the ability of Bahamian road building   Contractors and was delighted to boldly embrace the opportunity to allow Bahamians to prove that they had the mettle and were capable to build at international standards.

Our independent consultants and my technical staff at the Ministry of Works are pleased to endorse that the road works on the Tonique Williams Darling HWY and the expansion to Baillou Hill Road have been built to the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) specifications.
 

Today, we are delighted to be here to sign another contract with another Bahamian road building contractor for what we term to be Slice 3B, which is a local package.  The proposed works will essentially shift the existing Milo Butler Highway west to this location while at the same time creating a four (4)  lane highway up to Carmichael Road.

 It is expected that these improvements will greatly enhance the flow of traffic, along this route and  I am convinced that this corridor will form part of a strategic north – south link between Cowpen Road and West Bay Street upon completion.  These  improvements are expected to provide increased capacity for high volume traffic flows and provide access control to minimize conflicts and delays.

Ladies and Gentlemen, the proposed improvements to the  Milo Butler Highway under Slice 3B are as follows:

• creation of a 4-lane highway between Fire Trail Road and Carmichael Road;
• redevelopment of a roundabout at the new Milo Butler Highway/Fire Trail Road intersection for turnaround movements;
• a signalized junction at Carmichael Road to allow for future extension to Cow Pen Road;
• general landscaping improvements throughout;
• installation of state of the art street lighting;
• installation of a complete drainage system on the new highway;  as well as
• upgrades and improvements to the existing 4 lane Milo Butler Highway to include kerbing, culverts, drainage, pavement, signage and guard rails.

While my technical officers do not anticipate any major challenges such as  underground utilities, high water table and environmental concerns,   every effort will be taken to ensure that all, if any challenges are properly handled during this project to ensure the safety of the public.   It is expected that the  work will commence  next month and completed over a period of twelve (12) months.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I am pleased to announce that the Contract for this work, Slice 3B of the NPRIP, has been awarded to the local Contractor, Knowles Construction,  in the sum of    $8,847,103.00.

This Contractor, Mr.  Emile Knowles is no stranger to the Bahamian public having just completed work on the New Providence Seawalls – (East), the Rum Cay Runway and Roads, Great Harbour Cay Runway and Roads, Cat Island Seawalls, and the San Salvador Seawalls just to name a few of the more recent projects completed on behalf of the Government.

Emile Knowles is a proud Bahamian, who has proven that he is capable of executing road works comparable to that of any other quality contractor be it local or international.

I should note that my Ministry has once again assembled a team of enthusiastic Bahamian professionals to manage this Project.  This is largely made up of the team who recently supervised the works on the new Tonique Williams-Darling Highway and the Baillou Hill Road Expansion Improvements, between Independence Highway and Robinson Road.

I am certain that the Project Execution Unit of my Ministry will continue to give similar effort and dedication on this Project.  Further, I am advised that our Mott McDonald’s resident Bahamian team of Engineering Consultants will also assist the Ministry’s technical team with the management of this project.

Ladies and Gentlemen, it is also my pleasure to note that the other road corridors under the  NPRIP are scheduled to commence as early as in May 2007.

Recently the bid documents for improvements to Charles Saunders Highway extending up to the East Street intersection, as well as for improvements to the Abundant Life Road were issued to the five (5) pre-qualified local Contractors.  These bids are expected to close next month and it is expected that a contract will be awarded for Slice 3A shortly thereafter, in May 2007.

The bid documents for the larger contract,  comprising of several  road corridors, and which is expected to be tendered to international contractors, are now being finalized and it is expected that the documents will be available to interested contractors by early next month.   And the construction of this major International Slice is expected to commence, in a big way, by August of 2007.

Ladies and Gentlemen, let the word go forward that there will be a great deal of road works continuing into 2008, all in an effort to greatly improve the existing New Providence road network.  As with projects of this magnitude and complexity, inconveniences are to be expected.

This particular corridor for which we are signing the contract today is  a brand new Highway.  However, we will ensure that  disruptions to motorists will be kept at an absolute minimum. However, where necessary, there will be traffic management cones, signs and personnel on site to direct the public in and around the work site.

I urge that you obey all traffic management measures to assist in the orderly progression of work during construction.   However, it would be best for persons to avoid this route as much as possible, unless it is absolutely necessary to use it.

My Ministry apologizes for any inconveniences this work may cause to motorists, businesses and residents in the immediate area.  It must be remembered, however, that the work is intended to improve the quality of life for all who must use these roads daily.  My Ministry will keep the public informed at every stage of the project and hope that with your cooperation we will achieve a successful outcome.

Ladies and Gentlemen, in closing, I am delighted to acknowledge my personal elation and that with the full support of the Rt. Hon. Prime Minister and my Cabinet Colleagues to have led the way in providing the opportunity for Bahamian road building contractors to prove beyond doubt to all international lending agencies and the former administration that Bahamians can indeed build to international  standards.

May God continue to bless the people of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas.