CRH-UBH Interchange
An interchange that helped alleviate traffic congestion by linking the two busiest highways in Trinidad and Tobago.
Location
San Juan, Aranguez, Tunapuna, St. Joseph and Valsayn, Trinidad
Beston's Role
Conceptual and Infrastructure Designs, Road and Bridge Design and Detailing, Stormwater Management, Construction Supervision
Beston's Team
Wayne Loquan, David Blake, Naeem Hasnain, Hardeo Chattergoon
Collaborators
NIDCO (National Infrastructure Development Company Ltd)
Over the past decade Trinidad and Tobago has seen a steep rise in the number of cars registered for the road, with that number standing at over 1 million cars for a population that hovers just below 1.4 million. Traffic congestion is usually cited as one of the country’s major contributors to a reduced quality of living so, when a tender went out for civil works on an interchange that links two of the country’s main arteries – the north-south Uriah Butler Highway and the east-west Churchill-Roosevelt Highway – we jumped at the opportunity and submitted a winning proposal.
One of our biggest challenges on this project was temporary traffic management. To ensure that we didn’t create additional delays at this already notorious junction, we worked in stages for minimal interference, while we managed the safety of people moving through and working on the site.
The overall concept for the interchange had been completed before Beston got involved; our first task on the project was working with the contractor, Vinci Grand Projects, on the civil works for the south to west ramp and one of the interchange’s major bridges, which went from west to south and then north to south.
Beston’s role then shifted, as eight members of our team moved into designing the drainage systems – which was particularly challenging due to the flatness of the site – the roads, and other ramp packages of the interchange, including the lesser, feeder roads. We also worked on widening roads and creating a subtle yet intentional zigzag to slow traffic on ramp approach.
Due to the intricate nature of the interchange, we assigned six team members to supervise the project at every stage of construction – they ensured that the project’s curves met all standards and that the geometry was smooth.
Beston is proud to have worked on such a major, impactful project, particularly given that projects like these are usually assigned to foreign companies. Having local capability to design and execute higher level projects to international standards is where we excel.