We didn't forget the lines!

Tuesday 15 February 2022

Drivers are being reassured that the lack of dashed lines along part of the newly resurfaced Havre des Pas road isn't due to a mistake.

The road was closed to all traffic in January and the early part of this month to allow resurfacing, the installation of raised tables and other pedestrian crossing improvements to go ahead.

It was anticipated that the works would last for seven weeks. However, despite being hit by an asphalt shortage due to technical issues at Ronez's manufacturing plant, the Government confirmed yesterday that the road could be opened in time for evening traffic as the project had finished two weeks ahead of schedule.

While the early end of the project was met with relief by many eastern commuters - some of whom had complained of being stuck in traffic for upwards of an hour while work was ongoing - for others it led to confusion.

Pictured: The works at Havre des Pas were originally meant to last for seven weeks, but finished early.

Some eagle-eyed islanders spotted that dashed lines hadn't been painted along the centre of the road, though there were white chalk lines in their place, leading some to question whether the project was unfinished or the lines forgotten.

However, Infrastructure officials confirmed that this was an intentional road-calming measure when asked by Express.

"IHE have not re-marked the white dashed centrelines from the raised table junction at Green Street to the mini roundabout at Dicq," a spokesperson for the Department said.

"Havre des Pas has been subject to a 20mph speed limit for some time now and is relatively narrow in places. By not marking a centre white line, the character of the road is reinforced, as well as adding to the physical traffic calming to generally slow vehicles down.

"There are currently chalk marks on the road which have been placed by the surveyor as part of the quality checks we do, and the lining team will have used chalk marks as part of their procedures to install the markings that have been installed, and will be installed when we mark the zebra crossing.

"As always with any scheme where changes are made, those changes will be monitored, motorists and pedestrian behaviour monitored and any amendments made if required."

Pictured: Chalk lines on the road were left by a surveyor, and are not an indication of where road markings should go, officials explained.

One final element of the work does remain to be completed, however - a new zebra crossing. It will be added later this year under a short off-peak road closure. Some unrelated drainage work is also currently continuing in the area.

Officials said that weather conditions and having the full 24-hour road closure had allowed the team to work efficiently and to complete the work early. Some unrelated drainage work is continuing in the area.

The Infrastructure Department thanked motorists for their patience.

Infrastructure Minister Deputy Kevin Lewis, added: “I’m really pleased to see the completion of this work well ahead of the original schedule.

"Thank you to the team for their committed work on site since the start of the year, and for getting motorists home a little earlier than they might have expected this evening.”

GALLERY: The resurfaced road...