Million dollar boardwalk crushed by truck again

| 11/01/2019 | 114 Comments
Cayman News Service

South Sound Boardwalk damaged by a truck in January 2019 (CLICK TO ENLARGE)

(CNS): For the second time in a matter of months, the costly boardwalk installed by government along the waterfront in South Sound has been crushed. The $1.3 million walkway has not even been formally opened yet but it has now been damaged twice by trucks. CNS understands that on this occasion the boardwalk was crushed by a concrete truck from the work site across the street turning in the area. Government officials have confirmed that the owners of the vehicle will be footing the bill. The boardwalk, the cost of which has been sharply public criticised, was due to be formally opened in the coming weeks but this has now been postponed. 

Cayman News Service

South Sound Boardwalk damaged by a truck in January 2019 (CLICK TO ENLARGE)

The 1,500 foot boardwalk was damaged for the first time in October, when a truck ran over it, and government officials also said on that occasion that the liable party had paid. On neither occasion has government revealed the cost of repairs.

The walkway, which runs along the shore-side of South Sound Road, stretches between the public boat ramp to just east of the ‘Shoe Tree’. It was constructed by Phoenix Construction and includes a bike lane, benches, three major beach access points and parking.

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Category: Local News

Comments (114)

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  1. Anonymous says:

    You fool, yunnuh…

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  2. Anonymous says:

    When are they going to put proper road markings on that road? Hard to know where the lanes are. It just looks incomplete and is confusing to drive along. No wonder trucks are running into the boardwalk.

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    • Anonymous says:

      Perhaps if the drivers received a hefty ticket for leaving the scene of government property damage,then the word would get around to other drivers. The owners of those trucks paying damages alone will not deter reoccurance of the problem.

  3. Anonymous says:

    What baffles me is why they didn’t lay down brick on a dirt pad like a driveway instead of boards?

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  4. Anonymous says:

    Million dollar dock? Must be Jamaican currency.

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  5. Ghost Leaders says:

    I will bet you that if there is any comment on this from the CIG side, it will come from ‘the Ministry’ or some other anonymous entity and not an individual. You see, in this World Class government thing, no one takes responsibility when shit goes down. Now break ground for a new development, and you will see a half a dozen or more all dressed up and posing for the cameras. What ghosts we chose as our leaders.

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  6. Anonymous says:

    The question is, Is the police involver here? What if it was a cyclist or mother with a baby in a stroller?? This is supposed to be a safe place to walk but it looks like the SMB road is safer.

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  7. Anonymous says:

    Anyone want to join me for a late-night trip to that “shoe tree” with a can of kerosene and a bbq lighter? A tree covered in stinking, rotting shoes: total eyesore, fit for the chainsaw. I hope it’s not seen as representative of our tourism sector.

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  8. Anonymous says:

    This is going to happen over, and over, and over, and over, and over again. Every truck driver parks their truck by first driving onto the sidewalk, then straightening out. This is just the damage caused by absent-minded heavy equipment operators reversing. Wait until people actually start parking there.

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    • Anonymous says:

      What about taxis and buses parking on the sidewalk on North Church Street near the pedestrian crossing. That sidewalk should have been eight inches high like the one at the fish market. Note also that a wheelchair coming off that particular sidewalk then needs to go in the middle of the road thanks to Hammerheads putting three signs on the sidewalk. That is rediculous. CPA and RCIP please do something about it..

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      • Hancock says:

        Yes the signs are contrary to the Traffic laws. Time for enforcement by the NRA and RCIP.

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      • Anonymous says:

        Do the thumbs down favour wheelchairs in the middle of the road? What thick people.

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      • Chris Johnson says:

        Three years ago my son designed a safe sidewalk up North Church Street for several hundred yards. Only two property owners assisted and the government failed to assist as well.

        Many of you will recall that in the 70/80s the government for safety reasons built the sidewalk on West Bay Road. Now they build a useless sidewalk on South Sound which is waiting for more accidents. They need get their act in order and fix North Church Street before the millions arrive by cruise ship. North Church Street is an accident waiting to happen and a resulting lawsuit against the CIG.

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      • Anonymous says:

        If it is the same 3 signs I am thinking of, when they are not put out selfish pricks park cars and trucks on the pavement, over the double yellow lines, resulting in
        – blocked access to the store on the road front,
        – blocked access to pedestrians, prams and wheelchairs along the pavement, forcing them into the road
        – creating a road hazard on what is already a treacherous T-junction with Mary Street.

  9. Anonymous says:

    I hope them campers still set up camp this year!!

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  10. Anonymous says:

    Imagine how much mangroves we could have replanted along that stretch with 1.3mil.

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    • Anonymous says:

      But that wouldn’t give one company $1.3m for something less robust than Lego. That’s not how this works. We give the money to the big businesses. And the big businesses say “that’s it?” And then we give them more. Because they’re wealth creators you see. They create so much wealth they need all of our money. Are you understanding it yet? Look, just withdraw your life savings and go and put it on the boardwalk, okay? The next truck will run over it and it’ll fall below the next planks they install. If we pour enough money into the foundation, maybe it will hold up the planks. That’s the best we can hope for.

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      • Anonymous says:

        Just wait until the next cat.5 hurricane passes south of us then we can literally watch 1.3million dollars get washed out to sea.

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    • Anonymous says:

      Great idea, always love to see the mangroves re-generated when-ever possible. But this particular short length of road right where the board-walk has been built is now about 2 feet lower than it was prior to Ivan’s passage. It can be viewed in the you-tube video posted by local photographers taken mid Sept’ o4 , with a road manhole casement totally exposed by the surge and the boat ramp parking lot under-mined and sitting 2 feet higher than the surrounding grade. I think any attempt to re-propagate mangroves here may be a short lived experiment. Could work elsewhere on South Sound, but judging by the new developments now underway, it remains to be seen.

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  11. Anonymous says:

    Ummmm, nobody governing the horrific driving……

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  12. Anonymous says:

    In other news…… ?

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  13. Anonymous says:

    And they’re seriously suggesting we let them sink $200-$300million into a cruise dock?

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  14. Anonymous says:

    That whole stretch of South Sound is now a complete nightmare, a major accident waiting to happen and when it does the lawyers will be oh so happy.
    1/ A boardwalk with no safety railings either side.
    2/ Very little street lighting.
    3/ New developments with ‘blindside’ walls that go straight onto a main highway.
    4/ uneven road surface with no real identifiable kerbs or even adequate road markings.
    All in all, a complete mess and folly by all concerned.

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    • Anonymous says:

      These things are all just fine in Absurdistan.

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    • Who cares. says:

      3:29pm, it’s “curbs”. Spell check!

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    • SD says:

      Yes, yes and yes. Also varying width of road. What was the point of the planters jutting out, so cyclists in the “cycling lane” (aka the parking lane) have to swerve into the road. The whole thing is madness and a complete waste of money.

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  15. Anonymous says:

    The private sector build the board walk and the private sector has destroyed it. Dont worry CIG will fix it. If Only the whacky private sector would get its act together we could reduce the cost of government

    Just think how many money was spend over Xmas to stop the private sector from drinking and driving.

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    • Anonymous says:

      Public money paid a private contractor to do the work. Big difference. The boardwalks is flimsy at best and will cost a lot to maintain. I would hate to have my foot go through the boards while walking. It looks quite deep and treacherous underneath like a nasty accident waiting to happen.

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    • Anonymous says:

      you have mental problems….but i’m sure you are very happy in the civil service.

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    • Anonymous says:

      It’s unfortunate that not as ‘many money’ was spent on your education.

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  16. Anonymous says:

    Maybe we could buy some sand/marl or rock and cover this dangerous boardwalk with it so that vehicles and pedestrians can operate without danger. With time nice vegetation might grow so as to provide shade and protection from flood water.

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  17. Anonymous says:

    This board walk serves as a 1.3 million dollar monument to our governments incompetence. Do we really want a half a billion dollar monument of incompetence in George Town Harbor??

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  18. Anonymous says:

    Build a wall!!

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  19. Anonymous says:

    How and why would a board walk be built that can hold the weight of vehicular traffic?
    It won’t be long and we will say yahoos parking on the board walk like they do on double yellow lines and every sidewalk pavement.

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  20. Anonymous says:

    The whole project was a waste of time and money in the first place. What’s the point of walking from a boat dock at one end, to a bush at the other?

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    • Anonymous says:

      The point is to generate a construction contract for $1.3 million. Would have been better for everyone if they had just left it the way it was and gave them the money in a bag.

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  21. Anonymous says:

    Is this from Vela again? Why can’t they pay minimum wage to a banksman to control traffic coming out of their construction site??

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    • Anonymous says:

      it should have been just a regular cement sidewalk.

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      • Anonymous says:

        But the contractor convinced government to let them sink a million dollars into a fancy foundation and put fake wooden planks on top. The next hurricane is going to drop this entire boardwalk on the nearest house.

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  22. Sadbutru says:

    Why have these silly planters jutting out into the road and reducing it’s overall width.All the plants/shrubs will shrivel and die in the next dry spell as they are never watered.

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  23. Anonymous says:

    this was a waste of money to begin with smfh

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  24. Anonymous says:

    the cayman islands civil service can’t go 5 minutes without humiliating themselves!
    well done ppm!
    do-nothing ppm, eventually does something and of course makes a total cock-up of it…

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  25. Anonymous says:

    civil service incompetence and negligence at its finest…
    this whole saga needs to be audited asap. cost over runs, delays and it is still not complete!
    btw if this has no railing… it is a public liability and cig will suffer numerous claims… how did planning approve this?
    everything about this makes no sense.

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  26. Anonymous says:

    LOL!! I realize that those large trucks can be difficult to maneuver but how do you NOT know the boardwalk is there?????

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  27. Anonymous says:

    and these clowns think they can build a dock!…..

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  28. Anonymous says:

    Los Angeles County has 31 miles of beach and boardwalks – none of it is made of PVC decking (which a 2 second Google will tell you, warps badly when exposed to UV light). Much of it sits atop reclaimed bog march and peat soil. Even the sophisticated Venice Beach Skatepark Complex, that will host part of the 2028 Olympics, cost only USD$2mln in 2009. Look at Hollywood to Fort Lauderdale…anywhere you want to look…all of it cheap, smooth, and weather-resistant concrete pours.

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  29. Anonymous says:

    Horrible use of funds for infrastructure increases on the part of the Government. Where are the road repairs across the island, especially in west bay and north side? How about roadway expansion for the one-lane roads to have a central turning lane and decrease traffic? Clearing of road side hazards such as blind spots due to overgrown bush? These multi-million dollar aesthetic projects are bleeding the local people dry, most of whom will never even see or use these projects as they are based in high tourist areas, not local areas.

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  30. Anonymous says:

    Government spending review process in full detail:

    Step 1: Dig a hole
    Step 2: Buy a shovel
    Step 3: Throw money in hole with shovel
    Step 4: Increase fees to pay for wasted money in hole
    Step 5: Repeat

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  31. Anonymous says:

    What numskull committee decided on this death-trap setup, within 12 inches of an active artery road (with construction going on all around)? Can’t even skateboard or rollerblade on it!

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  32. Anonymous says:

    *laughs in frustration*

    Why do we keep electing these clowns?

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  33. anonymous says:

    This is a sign by God.. stop the damn unnecessary ‘development’ CIG!

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  34. Steve Cummins says:

    An ill conceived, expensive and unneeded boardwalk that enshrines a near dead invasive species of tree covered in garbage. Is this the Government’s vision of Cayman’s tourism product?

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  35. Anonymous says:

    Curious how much it will be to fix. Might give us an idea of how much money when into someone’s pocket for nothing.

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    • Anonymous says:

      Don’t worry, CIG will find a way to make it cost another arm and a leg! They’re experts at that, you know.

  36. Anonymous says:

    Can’t fix stupidness. This thing will look like some of our roads soon with all the patches and reparations.

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  37. Anonymous says:

    Just further evidence of the piss poor drivers we have operating vehicles.

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  38. Anonymous says:

    Did no engineer ever ask what happens if a heavy truck drives over this before construction of the project?

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  39. Anonymous says:

    Cheap garbage that cost us millions! Wait until a hurricane passes by, those plastic planks will be littering the sea all over South Sound!

    Heads should roll for this blatant theft from government coffers!

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  40. Anonymous says:

    Cayman is starting to look like much of the carib with no upkeep of the infrastructure. You all get what you want which is a home away from your real home on another nearby island.

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