Nov. 23, 2001 – Travelers to and from Magens Bay will be happy to know repairs to the pothole-ridden road are scheduled to get under way Jan. 2.
On Aug. 1, Wayne Callwood, then Public Works commissioner-designate, told the Source, "That road is in the process of being resurfaced and totally redone. We're really hoping to get Magens started in another month or two. It should have already been done before the road work that we're doing now."
A day after the Source story appeared, Public Works crews began temporary repairs to some of the worst of the offending holes.
Regular drivers of the road will often see hubcaps decorating the hillsides along the road -– small evidence of the damage done by the huge unattended cavities in one of the island's most heavily trafficked roads. It is the only road going to and from Magens Bay, the island's most popular beach. Thousands of tourists travel the road weekly in taxis, safari vans and rental cars, along with residents who go to Magens to exercise, play and picnic.
On Wednesday, Callwood, Sen. Carlton Dowe and Andy Smith of Island Roads, the company contracted for the work, met at the entrance to Magens Bay Road to announce the start of the project, according to a release from the Legislature.
Dowe, vice chair of the Senate's Planning and Environmental Protection Committee, said, "There are a lot of capital projects that we need to get going. I have to give the administration credit for moving this project along. My office has been inundated with calls from constituents and taxis complaining about this road."
The project, federally funded, is expected to cost $1.6 million.
Concrete swales will be installed first on the sides of the road to handle water runoff; then the asphalt will be laid and the road will be striped. Smith said installing the swales will take the longest, about three months. The asphalt work should take another month; and final phase, painting the lines, another month, he said.
Magens Bay general manager Bill Jowers said he's glad the work is finally about to begin.
