The road edge at Six Men’s in St. Peter, which was partially damaged during the passing of Hurricane Beryl last year, is approximately 95 percent fixed. Built to enhance road stability and coastal protection, the restoration provides safe access to road users as well as fisherfolk who haul their boats in the area.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport and Works, Santia Bradshaw visited Six Men’s on Wednesday, January 29, 2025, to view the progress firsthand. She was joined by the supervisory engineering team from Professional Engineering Services Limited (PESL).
A mass gravity-retaining concrete system, comprising interlocking “Lego” blocks and boulders, was designed and constructed. In addition to rebuilding the road edge, a sidewalk was added at the level of the reinstated road to facilitate pedestrians and the hauling of boats.
“We had to strike the balance between the fishing community who needs to obviously have access to the beach to be able to continue to earn a living…. It’s no mystery that they have been severely impacted by the effects of the last system and are still recovering. And so, our design and our approach to this particular area have had to take into account that we preserve the fishing community while at the same time bringing the necessary rehabilitation,” Ms. Bradshaw said. Stating she believed residents were pleased, she pointed out that reopening the road should help to generate economic activity for businesses in the area, even though the process of improving some of the coastal structures was still ongoing.
The supervisory engineer on the project, Darius Cumberbatch from PESL, highlighted the meticulousness of the design process. He said the team, in consultation with the Ministry of Transport and Works (MTW) and the Coastal Zone Management Unit, carefully considered
various options. After ruling out gabions and reinforcement with steel due to the corrosive effect of seawater on metal, the team decided the best option was a mass concrete gravity retaining wall using interlocking “Lego” blocks. Outlining the benefits of the chosen solution, Mr. Cumberbatch emphasized, “This is a long-term solution; the blocks weigh just about one tonne or more…. You arrange them in a matrix to provide stability and protection against wave action… so you get the same design life you would expect from a boulder protection system. We also protected those Lego block systems with a series of boulder rocks to protect them from wave action…. The mass of the blocks is maintained throughout the length of the structure as well as the width, and that was topped with concrete to provide access for pedestrians and as well to allow the fisher folk in the area to launch their boats from their vehicles off the edge of the road going to the sea without minimal disruption to traffic. What should not be misunderstood, [is that] the design would not stop the wave from overtopping [the road], what it does do is protect the road edge from being eroded or damaged during high wave action.”
Minor repairs to a headwall and a culvert a few metres north of the restored road edge are estimated to take approximately three days, pending weather or unforeseen circumstances. A team from C.O. Williams Construction began the work at Six Men’s in December 2024.
Designs for the rehabilitation at Sand Street in St. Peter and Shermans in St. Lucy have been approved. Both areas were damaged during the passing of Hurricane Beryl. The Ministry is seeking to start work on Sand Street next. The restoration at Shermans will require sheet piles, which can only be done by one contractor in the country. Consequently, the start date depends on contractor availability as there are a few ongoing revetment sea wall projects across the island. (PR/MTW)
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