Cabinet has ordered the immediate repair of a problematic 500-foot section of Friar’s Hill Road located west of Woods Shopping Centre, expressing dissatisfaction with the engineering quality that has led to its rapid deterioration.
The Director of Public Works was summoned to Wednesday’s Cabinet meeting to explain why the recurring issue has not been fixed despite numerous previous directives from the Minister of Works.
According to Cabinet notes, the short stretch of highway, which hundreds of drivers traverse daily, has developed potholes following recent rainfall, creating both an irritant and danger to vehicles.
“The accumulation of runoff from the paved parking lot and the all-glass building immediately east of the strip of roadway, results in the erosion of the asphalt-filled-in potholes, attesting to poor execution and engineering,” the Cabinet stated.
The Director explained that three sources of water have plagued the roadway since its construction, but several ministers challenged this explanation.
Cabinet members insisted the situation could be resolved by using “a very strong concrete mix” and implementing proper drainage solutions to divert runoff toward the nearby pond or waterway.
Engineers were instructed to install “piped drains below the surface to channel the accumulating water away from the surface of the low-lying road.”
The Director has been charged with fixing the roadway immediately and preparing a long-term solution plan for Cabinet’s review by next Wednesday, May 14, 2025.
