Barbados is launching a massive infrastructure improvement initiative centered on long-overdue repairs to local residential roads, with a total investment of $32.5 million earmarked for the project, Senior Minister Kirk Humphrey has confirmed. Speaking at a branch meeting of the Barbados Labour Party held at St Leonard’s Boys School in St Michael West on Sunday, Humphrey laid out the full scope of upcoming work being rolled out by the Ministry of Transport and Works (MTW).
To date, authorities have pinpointed nearly 50 residential roads in need of repairs, with an additional 30 historic cart roads currently under evaluation for inclusion in the project. Humphrey emphasized that while major highway expansion projects remain on the government’s agenda, upgrading the small, community-focused roads that residents use every day has been a top personal priority.
“When you step out your front door, you shouldn’t land in a puddle – those corner roads, neighborhood access routes and cart roads are the ones I am most committed to fixing,” Humphrey said. The government has kept its promise to advance major infrastructure as well, he confirmed: planning is already underway to expand Highway 2A to four lanes, with construction set to break ground before the end of this year. Humphrey also invited residents to report poorly maintained small roads directly to the ministry, guaranteeing that reported routes will be added to the official work schedule.
The residential road repair program is just one of several citizen-focused initiatives MTW is advancing in the coming months. Among the other urgent projects is a full overhaul of the neglected Constitution River Terminal, which Humphrey described as having fallen into unacceptable disrepair. Stagnant water pooling, unregulated encroachment, and overall dilapidation have left the terminal looking like a shantytown, he said, a situation unfit for Barbadian workers and commuters.
“If we expect people to respect public spaces, we have to first provide them with safe, well-maintained spaces to live and work,” Humphrey noted. Along with physical upgrades, the ministry will deploy additional staff to the terminal to monitor public service vehicle operators and ensure compliance with traffic and route regulations. Humphrey stressed that effective management of van staging areas is critical to maintaining order across the entire road network, making on-site supervision a non-negotiable part of the terminal overhaul.
With the Atlantic hurricane season set to begin in less than two weeks, MTW has already started clearing major drainage infrastructure across the island, and will ramp up clearing operations imminently. Humphrey called on local residents to share responsibility for flood risk reduction, urging homeowners and community groups to clear drains near their properties wherever possible to reduce the risk of flooding during storm events.
The ministry also moved to address a longstanding public request: the installation of speed bumps in residential areas, particularly near schools, churches and crowded neighborhoods to protect child pedestrians and other community members from speeding traffic. Humphrey shared that he has long shared residents’ frustration over the previous MTW policy that blocked speed bump installation in most residential areas. While speed bumps are not appropriate for high-speed major highways, he explained, they are a critical safety measure in residential and community zones. He confirmed that internal discussions have already concluded, and residents can expect widespread speed bump installation to begin across the island’s communities in the near term.