DETAILS about how traffic involved in the construction of the Island’s new hospital at Overdale will be managed have been shared with St Helier residents and the parish’s roads committee.
Representatives from the project team gave presentations ahead of the release of the traffic management plan for the building phase of the new £710 million hospital, which is due to open by the end of 2030.
Speaking to members of the St Helier Roads Committee yesterday, Julien Martina from main contractor Bouygues UK spelled out a series of measures designed to reduce the impact of the four-year progarmme.
The access routes for construction vehicles into and out of the site had been mapped out and would feature local speed restrictions and traffic marshalls at key intersections and outside schools, he said.
Information was also provided about staggered start times for workers, the confinement of building noise to between the hours of 8am and 6pm on weekdays, or 8am to 1pm on Saturdays. Mr Martina said that any deliveries by large vehicles would be restricted to dedicated time-slots between 9am and 2pm, leaving the morning and afternoon rush-hour periods clear.
Roads committee members were also told about performance indicators that would be adopted by the project team, monitoring traffic conditions and any safety-related incidents and working to resolve any complaints received.
“We are here to work with the local community and to minimise the inconvenience,” Mr Martina said. “We’re going to listen, we’re going to review, and we will refine our methods where possible.”
The hoardings surrounding the site will be “decorated” with images showing the history of the site as a base for the provision of healthcare, designs of the new hospital and artwork by young Islanders.
Jessica Hardwick, project director for the government, said that while the main contractor was a UK company, there would be considerable opportunity for Jersey-based contractors to become involved.
Feedback from the engagement initiatives carried out so far had been good, she said, adding : “I think the reason that we’ve received positive feedback is because when we say that we’re going to do something, we do it.”
St Helier Constable Inna Gardiner said that she hoped that engagement with some of the schools in the area, including d’Auvergne and Haute Vallée, would be expanded to include other schools including Janvrin, First Tower, Rouge Bouillon and Mont a l’Abbé.
Mrs Gardiner said she was pleased to see the level of detail contained in the traffic management plan and agreed with the previous observations about positive feedback from residents.
“Engagement with the neighbourhood is very important,” she said. “There are concerns, but it’s very clear that the [project] team is working very hard to respond to residents’ concerns and to find solutions.
“We all understand that the project will be disruptive, but communication is very important and I think it’s really improved.”
Health Minister Tom Binet attended the roads committee meeting but did not take part in the discussions.
