Govt will invest Rs21.5 bln in road infrastructure

Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam said yesterday at the openingn of the new access road to Reduit Triangle that the Ministry of Public Infrastructure, Land Transport and Shipping in collaboration with the Road Safety Management Unit are currently working on the new regulations.

The government, he said, will invest Rs21.5 billion to beef up road security for drivers and other road users as well as to improve the island’s road infrastructure. Dr Ramgoolam said that the most significant changes will concern a new penalty points system and a new Driver Training and Education Centre which will be set up in Highlands on 10 hectares of land. The Singaporean government has also sent a team which is working on the Light Rail Transport System, which will be at first operational from Curepipe to Port Louis but will later be available throughout the island.

The penalty points system will give all drivers a certain number of credits and they will lose points according to the seriousness of the offences committed. In cases where drivers are found to be driving with a high level of alcohol in their blood, their driving licences will be cancelled. The prime minister said that all new drivers will have to drive with a sign on their vehicles for a probationary period of two years. “One of the amendments to the Road Traffic Act will also empower police officers to go to private clinics to take statements and alcohol tests of drivers who are involved in accidents. “

Many drivers involved in cases of ‘hit and run’ were not able to be identified because after hitting a pedestrian, the driver would normally go to a lawyer instead of going to the hospital. Lawyers will advise the driver to go to a private clinic for treatment because there will not be any enquiry and also because police officers will not be allowed to take the drivers blood test at private clinics,” he said.

Dr Ramgoolam said that there were 162 cases of “hit and run” where police have not been able to identify the drivers. “There was recently one old lady who was hit by a vehicle while she was crossing the road at a pedestrian crossing which was quite shocking. We will also install illuminated signs some distance before every pedestrian crossing.” He said that the new regulations for changing number plates, “which has not been an easy task up to now”, is another step to track down “hit and run” drivers, increase the visibility of registration numbers of vehicles and be able to know which vehicles are exceeding the speed limit.

The government will also train a special squad of 200 police officers which will be concerned solely with road safety. “There are drivers who also drive at 20km in the fast lanes of the highway. They will also be penalised. The new squad will be trained to tackle all such careless drivers.”

Minister of Public Infrastructure, Land Transport and Shipping, Mr Anil Bachoo, listed a series of projects currently underway like the New Northern By-Pass, the new Phoenix-Beau Songes Route, the Terre Rouge- Verdun Link and the Nouvelle France-La Flora road which will all be 70% complete by end of this year. He revealed that the government has also invested Rs400 million to refurbish all the old bridges around the island. He added that his ministry in collaboration with other authorities is working hard to solve the huge congestion problems faced on the M1 motorway. They will come up with a solution within 45 days, he vowed.