Red Bay Summer Roadworks

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Motorists, especially residents of the Prospect and Red Bay areas, should note that roadwork will continue in that area for the coming weeks of summer.

The National Roads Authority’s (NRA) phased plan will see the scale of work escalate once schools close in early July.  Plans include a reconfiguration of the Red Bay roundabout as well as enhancements to the east-west arterial. The NRA improvements will include widening the Red Bay roundabout to three lanes, which will accommodate the widening of the east-west arterial (between Dr Tomlinson Roundabout and the DMS/Grand Harbour roundabout) to three lanes in coming years.

Work in this area is to be completed before the end of August.

NRA officials explain that, to improve road safety, the roundabout lanes will be re-surfaced so they slant inwards. Some of the traffic islands and sidewalks will be reconstructed to facilitate these roadway changes.

However, special allowances are being made to ensure the flow of traffic. When work is underway, one lane will remain open as usual, and the closed bypass lane will be re-routed to another road to maintain traffic capacity. Therefore, the work is not expected to result in major traffic diversions or holdups on the east-west bypass.

To further minimize the impact on motorists, most of this work will be done during off-peak times. The plan is to limit the amount of work during peak hours on weekdays (between 7am and 9am, and from 5pm to 7pm) and in so doing, avoid disruptions to drivers going to and from work.

Once the Red Bay roundabout is completed, only one direction of the main road will be worked on at a time. For instance, when work is being done to the east-bound lanes, one of the bypass lanes will be open for traffic as usual, but the other lane heading to the eastern districts will be diverted through the old section of Shamrock Road.

During this phase, west-bound traffic heading towards town should note that there will be no right-turns allowed from the Red Bay roundabout to access the Prospect or Red Bay areas, including the primary school.

To access the Red Bay Primary School and/or the Prospect area then, westbound traffic should use the Dr. Tolminson roundabout, and must then return the same way, since the Red Bay roundabout access to the highway will be closed.

Alternately, west-bound traffic may use the DMS roundabout, but they will have to return to the highway using the Dr. Tomlinson roundabout.

When the west-bound lanes are being worked on, one of the bypass lanes will be open for traffic as usual, but the other lane heading towards George Town will be diverted through Prospect Point Road.

When one west-bound lane is closed, west-bound motorists driving from the east (and who must access Red Bay Primary School or the Prospect area) may use the Dr.Tomlinson roundabout onto Shamrock Road; but, they must then return the same way, since the Red Bay roundabout access will be closed.

To ensure the safety of NRA workers as well as the general public, drivers and pedestrians are encouraged to remain aware of these temporary changes, and to drive with caution in the area. Road users are asked to also pay close attention to signage indicating any lane closures or diversions.