We got a chance to speak with Acting Prime Minister Hyde's colleague, Julius Espat, at that same event this morning. The press took the opportunity to get updates on a few critical projects under his Ministry's purview.

Anyone who travels on the Philip Goldson Highway will know about the significant infrastructure failure at mile 7.

That's where the retaining wall, which the Ministry calls a "revetment," was undermined by the Belize River's undercurrents. As a result, that portion of the highway gave away around Christmas of last year, and today, the Minister of Infrastructure Development told us that the construction works to repair it will begin in about ten days:

Hon. Julius Espat - Minister of Infrastructure Development & Housing
"We're about ten more days for the piles to start driving. We had to build everything from scratch. So the contractor built the piles to specifications. Ten more days are left for the piling to be cured. And after that, not only the piling but the protection that we need to put in the shear wall. So, in about ten more days, they will start doing the physical work."

Reporter
"How long do you think this would remedy the situation?"

Hon. Julius Espat
"It's there, but the life spans of most of these things are between 20 to 30 years. You can't plan for longer than that because you're dealing with them corrosive material when you talk about salt and all of that. So, that's what the design is for."

Reporter
"So, since the collapse of the wall, there has it gotten worse? I haven't passed through there."

Hon. Julius Espat
"There's another section that we have - what happened is when it happened, we sent out our engineers to analyze the whole area and there's another section that is in peril. So once we finish this one, we will have to do an analysis and do a proposal to start dealing with the other side."

Reporter
"Okay, So before we reach the bridge, there is that section there."

Hon. Julius Espat

"Yes, both sections are. We have a problem coming out of Belize City, all the way to the airport, you know. If you notice, the roundabout by Benny's, the second roundabout, the road that was done before our time has already sunk. What our engineers are telling us is that there is like an underground water stream and that the sub material that's there is not adequate. So, to be able to remedy it permanently you might have to drive piles and create a causeway-type scenario. That is something we will have to propose to Cabinet because that's not an inexpensive approach. Something like that will cost somewhere between 40 to $50 million. And so we have to always be balancing the needs of the country. We got about 2500 miles of roads approximately, and hundreds of bridges. And so we have to be balancing and analyzing the budget that's given to us to see what is the priority. So, that's how we approach it."

Channel 7

Repairs to PGH Mile 7 Coming

In December 2021, the retaining wall at mile seven on the Phillip Goldson Highway gave way as a result of the Belize River’s undercurrent. Construction on that portion of the highway is expected to begin in ten days. But, the need for upgrades along the highway heading out of Belize City is not limited to mile seven. When we caught up with Julius Espat, the Minister of Infrastructure Development, on Thursday, he highlighted the challenges motorist face along the highway from Belize City to the Phillip Goldson International Airport in Ladyville.

Julius Espat, Minister of Infrastructure Development and Housing

“We’re about ten more days for the piles to start driving. We had to build everything from scratch. So the contractor built the piles to specifications. Ten more days are left for the piling to be cured. And after that, not only the piling but the protection that we need to put in the shear wall. So, in about ten more days, they will start doing the physical work.”

Reporter

“How long do you think this would remedy the situation?”

Julius Espat

“It’s there, but the life spans of most of these things are between twenty to thirty years. You can’t plan for longer than that because you’re dealing with them corrosive material when you talk about salt and all of that. So, that’s what the design is for.”

Reporter

“So, since the collapse of the wall, there has it gotten worse? I haven’t passed through there.”

Julius Espat

“There’s another section that we have, what happened is when it happened, we sent out our engineers to analyze the whole area and there’s another section that is in peril. So once we finish this one, we will have to do an analysis and do a proposal to start dealing with the other side.”

Reporter

“Okay, So before we reach the bridge, there is that section there.”

Julius Espat

“We have a problem coming out of Belize City, all the way to the airport, you know. If you notice, the roundabout by Benny’s, the second roundabout, the road that was done before our time has already sunk. What our engineers are telling us is that there is like an underground water stream and that the sub material that’s there is not adequate. So, to be able to remedy it permanently you might have to drive piles and create a causeway-type scenario. That is something we will have to propose to Cabinet because that’s not an inexpensive approach. Something like that will cost somewhere between forty to fifty million. And so we have to always be balancing the needs of the country. We got about two thousand five hundred miles of roads approximately, and hundreds of bridges. And so we have to be balancing and analyzing the budget that’s given to us to see what is the priority. So, that’s how we approach it.”

Channel 5