Monday 15th July marks the start of the Pipeline Maintenance Project being undertaken by the Barbados National Terminal Company Ltd (BNTCL).

The project will commence in an area close to the Fairy Valley headquarters of the BNTCL and will not initially affect residents or commuters in the area, but on Thursday 25th July, the project will move to the Charnocks area where the road will be reduced to one lane traffic only. Flag persons will be present to give directions accordingly. This work is expected to last 11 days in this area until August 8th.

The next area of the pipeline project to be undertaken is in the Pegwell area from August 16th to 31st. At that time the road closure will take place from the junction of Hill View and Pegwell Boggs with local access only where all traffic will be diverted West. Traffic going West will be diverted north along Hill View Road to Thornbury Hill or South to Chancery Lane.

The final area of excavation will be along Church Hill from August 23rd to September 9th. The road closure will be at the junction of Church Hill and Church Road and the Junction of Highway T and Church Hill. Local access will only be from Church Road and/or East from Thornbury Hill. Traffic going East along Church Road will be diverted North to Highway T or South to Oistins.

All work will be conducted between the hours of 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. and all roads will be reinstated in accordance with MTW’s guidelines.

The work will be carried out by WeldFab Ltd, an organisation with some 40 years of experience in the industry and known in the Barbados market, as the company was subcontracted to fabricate the pipelines during the construction of the BNTCL terminal in 2005. WeldFab Ltd has executed numerous successful projects by continual development and maintenance of an effective and productive Quality Assurance System ISO 9001:2015.

In order to fully inform residents and hear their concerns about how they may be affected, the BNTCL will be conducting another series of Town Hall Meetings to meet with the residents to discuss the project. The Charnocks meeting will be held on Thursday 11th July at Charnocks Pentecostal Church; the one in Pegwell will take place at the Pegwell Community Centre on July 31st and the Church Hill residents will meet at the Christ Church Community Centre on Monday August 12th. All these meetings will begin at 7.30 pm.

Residents who did not give in their contact information during the survey are invited to share their contact numbers during the meetings to ensure that they are kept up-to-date on the progress of the project.

This maintenance work on the pipeline is necessary following an inspection of the line done, adhering to the standard of the USA Pipe Safety Improvement Act. The primary goal of this repair project is to optimize the remaining life of the pipelines in the most reliable, safe and cost-effective manner.