PHILIPSBURG--Major road patching in the districts, totalling NAf. 245,000, was approved by Island Council Monday night. "Caretaker" Public Works Commissioner Theo Heyliger said the first work on some the most severely potholed roads could begin, so traffic flow could be improved.

Contractors MNO Vervat and Windward Roads Infrastructure will carry out the asphalt repair work in the districts. The contractors have been awarded a total of NAf. 122,500 in work each. They are the only contractors that provide asphalt in St. Maarten.

Heyliger told the Island Council the contractors were maintaining the same pricing as in the past when asphalt patching work was carried out. The Public Works Department executed asphalt patch work in 2008 and 2009. At the beginning of 2010, the department proposed yearly patch work periods, HJeyliger said.

The patch work entails milling the areas with potholes and degenerated road surfaces and replacing the layers with asphalt. The areas have to be milled first to prevent the spread of the damage to the road.

The contractors' pricing includes the total production of 250 metric tonnes of asphalt, execution of the work after inspection and approval by the Public Works Department; milling and excavating where necessary based on the price of NAf. 18 per square metre, and minimum asphalt quality 60-70 with a density of five centimetres. A minimum production of 15 tonnes of asphalt is required each time.

Work will be executed during regular working hours, with no compensation for night work.

The Island Council's approval was necessary because the project exceeded the NAf. 25,000 the Executive Council is allowed to approve.

Several Island Council members lobbied for roads in their areas to be patched under the project.

Democratic Party (DP) Island Councilwoman Sarah Wescot-Williams, as she had done in the past, drew attention to the deteriorated Orange Grove Road and Well Road in Cole Bay.

NA Island Councilman Rodolphe Samuel called attention to Arch Road, in particular the section in front of the Baptist church. Heyliger said that for Arch Road, the entire road would have to be removed and new infrastructure put in, a project that will come in the future. The water in front of the church and elsewhere may have stemmed from water main leaks, which are being repaired by utilities company GEBE.

DP Island Councilman Roy Marlin pointed out that the roads in Pointe Blanche, especially the one leading to the prison, were in dire need of repair. He said the grass needed to be cut for road safety and the safety of Pointe Blanche House of Detention workers.

Heyliger said the state of the roads around the island was well known, but the sum approved for the road patching could not remedy all of the road problems by far.

Answering questions about the state of the roads in Middle Region, Heyliger said the plans for upgrading the area had been completed and put on bid. The project will tap into European Union development and community improvement funds. That project is slated to start in the last quarter of this year.

He said an advice to pave 10 roads in the districts with concrete had been submitted to the Finance Department. That paving project will depend on whether there are enough funds for the work.