Patrick Kreitlow
Dart Real Estate has formally submitted a proposal with the Central Planning Authority to construct an underpass for West Bay Road in the vicinity of the former Camana Way. Once built, it will allow pedestrians to walk from Camana Bay along North Sound all the way to Seven Mile Beach. “From Sea to Sound,” as Dart labels the access plan.
Currently, according to the most recent National Roads Authority traffic count, nearly 30,000 vehicles use West Bay Road on a typical weekday. With the underpass, Dart says traffic would not have to stop for pedestrians on West Bay Road as well as the widened and relocated Esterley Tibbetts Highway where an underpass is already under construction. Work has also recently started on a sloping pedestrian walkway that stretches from the Esterley Tibbetts underpass to the area in front of Books & Books and the Mac Store.
The realigned highway was recently gazetted by Cabinet, according to a Dart news release which says construction will be completed in “early 2017.”
Dart Real Estate president Jackie Doak says the addition of the West Bay Road underpass will bring Dart’s total infrastructure investment to USD $100 million.
