Victoria bypass: Road linking Ile Aurore to Anse Etoile market open to motorists |13 April 2017

The Victoria bypass project which links the Anse Etoile market to the Ile Aurore roundabout is officially open and can be used by motorists.

Already some motorists have been using that road for a week now and so far they are satisfied with the 3km long road, which is the same length as the old road.

Habitat, Infrastructure and Land Transport Minister Charles Bastienne officially declared the road open when he visited the site yesterday morning accompanied by land transport principal secretary Patrick Andre, Seychelles Land Transport Agency (SLTA) chief executive Parinda Herath and his technicians and the Road Transport Commissioner Tim Marie.

Minister Bastienne was happy to note the rapid development regarding the works on the project.

The aim for such a bypass is to considerably ease the traffic flow in Victoria. This is because it will allow traffic travelling from east to part of north Mahé to avoid two currently busy roundabouts – 5th June Avenue and Le Chantier – as well as the congested Anse Etoile road, especially in the Independent School area at Union Vale.

“There are three stages in this project. Firstly, the construction of the bridge which will link Anse Etoile to Ile Aurore has already completed. Secondly, the work on the stretch of road from Ile Perseverance to the Inter Island Quay is expected to finish next week. The third stage which is the building of a new link which will go from the Seychelles NATION newspaper office to Latanier Road, via the ex-Children’s playground will be completed in two weeks’ time,” said CEO Herath.

Land transport principal secretary (PS) Patrick Andre noted that “the project is being fully financed by the government through the budget and will cost approximately R45m.”

“It includes a bridge which caters for a dual carriageway, but for now we will be opening only one side of the dual carriageway. This project is part of the Victoria traffic management master plan. The Minister for MHILT gave a commitment that this project will be completed by mid-April and as you can see we are on target with a few days delay due to rain that we experienced lately. The road is now expected to be open by Thursday next week. The aim of this project is to improve traffic circulation and relieve pressure on the existing roads in Victoria. As we are on the final leg to complete the project, we will need to block off part of the road in the Ile Du Port roundabout during the course of the next few days to be able to safely complete the roundabout. We therefore advise motorists as well as pedestrians to follow the signage and directions given on site. We regret for the inconvenience that this will cause but we request your full cooperation and patience. Finally we would like to implore all road users, especially drivers to use the new road properly and respect the speed limit and other warning signs,” said Mr Andre.

Mr Andre also mentioned that “only one contractor ‒ Vijay Construction ‒ has worked on the project with Gibbs as the consultant under the supervision of department of Land Transport and the department of Infrastructure in the Ministry of Habitat, Infrastructure and Land Transport.

Mr Herath also mentioned that “we will see the effects on traffic once all roads are functioning. We urge motorists to use the road with precaution and diligently. Currently crash barriers, road markings and speed bumps are already in place. We stress on the fact that this road is not a highway and the speed limit is set at 40km per hour.”

Power poles are also already in place but have not been connected yet. “The service line is not available in the country yet and we are waiting to install it,” confirmed Mr Herath.

Seychelles NATION spoke to two drivers who were using the new bypass to get their views.

Haroldin Fanchette said “the road is good so far and safe also. I have been using it for the last week.”

As for Dania Bonne, she said “so far so good.”

“The road is straight forward and it eases our daily travel to town. For now it is quite dark at night but I see the power poles are already in place. I know once they will be functioning the road will be safe at night also.”

Seychelles NATION also noted that some joggers and walkers have been using the bypass for their regular exercise.