The client, Dominica’s ministry of public works, is repairing the route following significant damage by tropical storm Erika in 2015. A grant from the UK’s
Dominica is part of the Windward Islands in the Lesser Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean Sea. News reports at the time stated that Erika was one of the island’s most destructive natural events.
Repairs to roads and bridges were estimated at more than US$226 million, prime minister Roosevelt Skerrit said. Around $4 million was needed to clear debris and more than $14 million to rebuild Melville Hall Airport, one of two in Dominica. The sums were huge for a population of only 72,000 or so.
Mott MacDonald’s work encompasses construction of nine new bridges, the rehabilitation of the road in landslide areas, road safety improvements and upgrades to undamaged road drainage infrastructure. The scheme will also include assessments and design of foreshore protection, including slope protection measures along the Dubuque Cliffs.
Mott MacDonald will assess the condition of infrastructure such as bridges, pavements, drainage and earthworks, as well as provide detailed design for all civil and structural engineering works. The consultancy will also undertake environmental and social impact assessments and prepare extreme weather, environmental and social management plans, as well as contract bidding documentation, explained Tom Hickson, Mott MacDonald’s project manager.
