Basseterre Bypass Highway

The city of Basseterre, with a population of over 15,000, is the capital of St Kitts and Nevis and home to half the island’s population. It is a small, old colonial town wedged between the Robert L. Bradshaw International Airport to the north and a harbour to the south. Dannion, in collaboration with Halcrow, undertook the transportation study, engineering design and construction supervision of the new highway aimed at reducing the congestion experienced in this small capital city, especially during peak hours. The first phase of the project involved the feasibility study and options development for improvement to the road network and transportation around the city, leading to the detailed design and construction of the identified preferred option. The particulars of the completed project are: a new 4.6km asphaltic concrete paved highway along the north of the capital city of Basseterre, St Kitts, connecting the west end of Basseterre (at Cayon Street) to the roundabout junction of Kim Collins Highway and Wellington Road, east Basseterre.

During the study phase of the assignment – Road Transportation Master Plan for Basseterre, Dannion provided expert services in transportation engineering and traffic analysis.

During the second phase of the assignment, Dannion provided expert services in: the detailed design of the highway vertical and horizontal geometry including the junction connections to the existing road network, the road pavement and all bridge structures; preparation of the specifications and bills of quantities; drafting of the design report; production of the tender drawings; and drafting of the tender document. Other activities undertaken by Dannion included assisting the Client with the compilation of the land acquisition schedules, attending public consultations, liaising with the public utility companies and assisting the Client during the tender period.

In undertaking the engineering designs, the Dannion experts evaluated various options for the intersections, roadway alignment and bridge structures. The detailed design consisted of three (3) three-arm roundabouts; one (1) four-arm roundabout; one (1) five-arm roundabout; two (2) major minor junctions; two (2) 20m span reinforced concrete bridges; a 9.5m span, deep reinforced concrete box culvert and a 9.5m span overpass and one (1) composite underpass structure. Three of the bridge structures carry the new highway over existing seasonal rapid flowing watercourses and the fourth carried it over a train track before descending to the level of the 5-arm roundabout.

Dannion provided construction supervision, design and technical advise services during the
construction phase of the by pass road.