EWA will cost around CI$1B over next 50 years
(CNS): The construction and maintenance of the eight-mile East-West Arterial Road extension will cost the public purse around CI$1 billion over the next 50 years, according to the Draft Environmental Statement that has now been published for public consultation.
When construction begins in 2026, the National Roads Authority will spend CI$120 million on Section 2 of the road from Woodland Drive to Lookout Drive and the relevant connector roads. Another CI$114 million will be spent on Section 3, taking the road towards Frank Sound.
The proposed eight miles of new road will start at the end of Section 1 of the EWA from Hirst Road to Woodland Drive, which is currently under construction, and will then run from the Woodland Drive/Agricola Drive Connector east to a new intersection with Frank Sound Road. According to the statement, this road will cut journey times by less than ten minutes between North Side and George Town.
Although it is expected to cut traffic congestion during the morning and evening rush hour, there are very real concerns that the road will simply allow commuters from the Eastern Districts to get more quickly to the bottlenecks around the edge of George Town, where they will still encounter traffic jams.
With a growing population but no modern national transport system, no efforts to decentralise government offices or introduce school buses for private schools, the congestion is unlikely to improve significantly.
The draft report, based upon the environmental impact assessment undertaken in 2023, also points out that the government has opted for route B3 against the advice and recommendation of the environment advisory board, which had chosen B2 because it was the least impactful option. (See graphic here, from EIA Reports/East-West Arterial, Alternative routes for the EWA extension.)
Instead, over 150 acres of wetland habitat will be lost to the road. More than 80 acres of natural untouched habitat currently used by the Grand Cayman parrot will also be lost.
The proposed eight miles of new roadway that starts at the end of Section 1 of the EWA from Hirst Road to Woodland Drive, currently under construction, will then run from the Woodland Drive/Agricola Drive Connector east to a new intersection with Frank Sound Road.
All of this road construction will result in the direct loss of flora and fauna along the route, slicing through pristine habitat as the road pushes east, and allow invasive species to spread, which will have a negative impact on biodiversity.
The Draft Environmental Statement pointed out the negative effects of habitat fragmentation, which will happen to an estimated 571 acres of undeveloped land in the Central Mangrove Wetlands, as the road will act as a barrier to the movement of species from places where they feed to places where they breed.
Birds and reptiles will all be vulnerable to road deaths,, and the water flow between habitats will become disconnected. Important natural flow paths, like the flushing of Meagre Bay Pond into the wetlands and the fresh/salt water hydrologic gradients in the area, could be altered. The wildlife there will also be disrupted by noise and light pollution from the construction and eventually the traffic.
The Environmental Statement also notes the flood risk and the threat to water quality, including the water lenses that may be impacted by the construction of the road and its future use. But the EIA also discusses the fact that the development of the road will make currently inaccessible land a viable option for future development, which would threaten even more of Grand Cayman’s dwindling natural resources.
The document, which is available on the National Conservation Council website, is open for public consultation until Monday, 3 February.
Members of the public can submit comments, questions or concerns by e-mail to the Department of Environment at doe@gov.ky
or by post to P.O. Box 10202, Grand Cayman KY1-1002,
or hand delivered at the Environmental Centre, 580 North Sound Road, George Town.The public will also get a chance to ask questions at two public meetings next week.
At the Craddock Ebanks Civic Centre, North Side, 6pm to 9pm on Tuesday, 21 January
and at the Bodden Town Church of God Chapels Hurricane Shelter, Shamrock Road, across from Rankin’s Jerk Stand, 6pm to 9pm on Thursday, 23 January.See all relevant documents, including the full statement and non-technical summary, on the NCC website.
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Category: development, Local News
$125m A MILE????
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Some one gettin’ RICH!!!
more caesars taxes…here we come! just wondering..what we caymanians getting out of all this development?
A few million will go missing too.
Traffic is a flow problem. More cars using a junction per time than the junction can handle will cause a backup. This solutions seems to be adding more, and very costly pipes to the same backed up taps.
What a BS projection
my condo will cost 1B in 50 years-time
Its scaremongering
free money making solutions:
Sell goab and build new goab east of frank sound.
or
bring in car-pool lanes and congestion charge for single occupancy vehicles that come through hurleys roundabout morning or evening peak times.
Elevate the road, hire world class builders from other countries, place financial penalties for not meeting milestones and completion and build a flyover at Grand Harbour.
In the meantime, establish first world bus services and require all students to ride a school bus.
1 billion over the next 50 years? Is that how long they plan to take to finish the road?
So between the EWA and Mount Trashmore we are essentially broke.
It’s been mentioned multiple times on this website and other avenues, reclaim land in the North Sound Basin, its the only way that makes sense. Forget about extending highways; leave the lands alone; go reclaim and create roadnetworks, more mixed use land for affordable residential, connect road properly to the north side of the Dump, etc.
Spending $1BN on this tiny extension to save 10 minutes to roll into the bottlenecks anyhow is a travesty.
According to estimates (in the documents accompanying this report) of driving times with and without this road, savings in driving time from, for example, North Side and Bodden Town to, for example, the GT Hospital are absolutely pathetic and certainly not worth the money being estimated as the cost.
A BILLION BUCKS??!?
Who have they got lined up to build this road – JuJu?
Assuming 30,000 Caymanians, that’s $33,333 per head.
Hundreds of pages and not a single mention of how funneling MORE traffic into the pre-existing bottlenecks as you enter GT will be managed.
The public can ask questions at the meeting but unless there is a change of government April 30th the questions will be in vain.
The average person does not understand the magnitude of this undertaking and it will come at a cost not only to animals, flora and fauna but humans as well.
This government will not consider alternatives cause they get their re-election war chests from the developers.
I ask the philanthropists and tree huggers to listen carefully to the candidates in waiting.
The current administration does not speak for all of us. It is our responsibility to educate the people on a better solution.
Where will the money come from to carry out this project??? Be prepared for an increase in the cost of living that is already breaking the middle class.
Inflation is strangling the country now with no sign of easing up as this government continues its reckless spending. Worse now with the campaign ahead.
We have heard stories of roofs being repaired, paved private roadways, job placement in government and more on the government dime. Spending the people’s money to get re-elected instead of creating economic advancement and sustainability for the people.
They are catering to the elite and we are so easily bought and not thinking about the next generation who will suffer.
And that road will lead straight to the Hurleys round about….
As the old saying goes. Can’t fix stupid.
How many acres is there estimated to be forced into use for solar panels farm’s in the next 50 years?
So what….? our civil servants and government cost us more than that EVERY year..!
The new road will at least bring Some benefit way beyond 1/50th of its annual cost.
in the absence of an overall island wide development plan…this road is a terrible idea that will exacerbate all the problems facing people living outside wb/gt peninsula
What are we even doing! $1B? Really!? For 8 miles of road? to cut a few minutes off a small portion of the population’s commute? This can’t possibly be serious. Imagine what $1B invested in a safe, reliable, 24/7, nationwide electric bus system would do for this country, and you wouldn’t have to build anything but a central depot with charging ports and revamp the bus shelters. A quick google and back of the napkin cost per mile of the US interstate highway system shows 8 miles of road over the same 50 year period would cost $108m, or in other words, Cayman costs are 11.3 times greater. Grift much!? Vote. Them. All. Out!
The Cayman Islands: where we spend $1 billion to shave off ten minutes from a commute, while simultaneously bulldozing parrots, mangroves, and any shred of environmental foresight.
@10am, I think it’s important to take a balanced look at this issue. Is it about “shaving off ten minutes” only?! What about the need for a proper road?! By that I mean, isn’t mitigation AND resiliency something to consider here as well??!! Or do the people who live on that side of the island not deserving of such?
I was here when Ivan came… I remember what it did to the road they have on that side. What happens when the next hurricane comes?! After all, we know that storms are getting more devastating.
I also remember when WB road was covered in mangroves. I also continue to read the CPA agenda, in which mangroves (what remains in WB peninsula) continues to be flattened; and with no objection from anyone…. why???!
Perhaps a good question to be asked, by the media, concerns what is the costs for maintaining the other main roads. After all, I can’t imagine that there is no cost AND it is somehow way less than what this one will costs. We all will agree that it cost money to maintain any and everything.
What about the constitutional right of the Caymanians who live in the eastern districts that are severely impacted by the lack of proper infrastructure in that side? Surely, that has some value??? Or does it not? Yes, the environment HAS to be protected (and it is a constitutional requirement) but it does not state that we cannot and must not ever have an impact on it. The reality is, as long as Cayman’s population continues to explode at this inorganic rate, infrastructure needs will be a reality.
Initially, the demand for an EIA was clear.. now, that is being done and it will offer the best way to inflict the least impact on the environment. That’s what it’s for. Now, we are going to try and use costs to justify not building it? C’mon, that’s a cheap shot.
It was only a few days ago, I was in Miami at Dolphin Mall when I ran in to an opponent to this road. Shopping at Dolphin mall, a structure that leveled a huge part of the Everglades. Isn’t that funny?, how we can selectively be concerned about something and totally ignore something similar?? It’s kinda like plugging in your electric car to a socket, to be charged by electricity that comes from fossil fuel generators. You didn’t “cut emissions” you just transferred the emissions thereof.
Fair is fair, but a hypothetical approach stinks to high heaven.
CNS, why you’re not covering fires in California? Such a scenario is not just probable, it’s quite possible in Cayman.
What Cayman could learn from the tiny Bermuda?
🌀HURRICANE buildings resilience. Bermuda houses are considered highly hurricane resilient primarily because they are constructed with thick stone walls and roofs made of limestone, a building style developed after a devastating hurricane in 1712 which destroyed many wooden structures, forcing residents to build with more durable materials that can withstand strong winds; this design has been consistently maintained through strict building codes over the centuries.
🔥WATER CONSERVATION and FIRE PREPAREDNESs. Roofs in Bermuda are designed to collect water. The roofs are made of limestone and have a stepped pattern that slows down heavy rain and directs it into gutters. The water then flows into tanks under the house.
🚍⛴️ TRANSPORTATION. Bermuda has excellent public transportation system that includes full size buses and ferries.
🛑There is no need for the EWA!
⛔️Say NO, Nein, Não, Нет to EWA!
it’s not probable at all in Cayman. Firstly all the homes in LA are built out of wood whereas almost none of the homes here are.
Secondly, why are you touting the construction in Bermuda as more hurricane resilient than here? What do you think we build with in Cayman? Twigs and straw?
I’d not want to be in Cayman when The Dump explodes. Cayman is 100% not ready for a major fire.
Next time they say evacuate, ask them where and how. Well, ask now.
Based on the voting Cayman residents don’t care.
1 billion and why do we need this foolishness but to benefit certain political scumbags
Waste of resources. Funds could be better spent in so many ways.
Also, if we believe the hype self-driving vehicles make this a non-issue before too long.
But in the interim we could launch Kenny’s World Class Buses, tear out a few roundabouts and put in traffic lights with active monitoring and responsive timing to speed up peak flow. Move several hundred gov’t jobs to Eastern Districts and maybe stagger the start times for public and private schools.
Probably a few other easier fixes than a monster road.
you intentions are good…but the fact that you don’t understand roundabouts speaks volumes
Let’s forget this road and concentrate on an alternative to the Hurley bottleneck & put the savings towards moving the dump.
Need to fix the Bobby Thompson bottleneck first. Traffic lights must be replaced with a roundabout tomorrow if not sooner.
A road that no voter needs or has asked for…just developers.
Nice sound bite but not in the least bit true. It’s the voters making all the noise. That said, the road won’t help them one bit.
FFS 🤦🏽♀️megalomania is a serious illness in this country.
Imagine if the previous Ministers for Roads, Julianna, Joey and Jay and their NRA did not waste time from 2009 fighting against doing an EIA, and actually completed the 9-month EIA, us in the eastern districts would be much better off today.
But for the first 3 years he got in office even Jay fought against doing an EIA (that would take 9 months) and now we see why – his ministry could not afford it or did not want to pay for it to help his own ppl in NS, EE and BT.
It was the cost of building the road, and the fact that they did not have the money to build the road, that Jay and the previous ministers were trying to keep hidden, as it is much easier for the politicians to blame it on the EIA – BUT DO NOTHING – and make people believe the EIA (which would have only taken about 9 months to complete) was the reason for the road not getting built for the last 15+ years.
So now that the EIA is almost complete, the questions are:
When will the road be built?
Where is the money budgeted to build the road?
Will the road be built same time as Julianna’s Brac High School that will cost this country $90million?
1 Billion over the next 50 years? That will probably be my CUC and Grocery bills over the next 50 years too, but I dont see anybody complaining about them
8:38, exactly. This is all a farce. Anything to try and stop the road. Not until they own the land, will the road be “needed”.
Good. Let’s get started on building it!