(CNS): The minister responsible for roads, Jay Ebanks, has said that the East-West Arterial Road extension is the most crucial of all the road projects that the National Roads Authority is working on. However, the proposed road is also one of the most controversial, as the bulk of the next phase poses a direct threat to the Central Mangrove Wetlands. There are also significant concerns that it will lead to a surge of development in this critically important habitat.

Speaking on Radio Cayman’s For the Record on Monday, Ebanks said the government was in full support of the road and he hoped that the public meetings in relation to the Environmental Impact Assessment would begin in the Eastern Districts in February.

In a press release about the project issued Tuesday, the NRA said the road was needed to create “a highly resilient transportation corridor to meet the increasing challenges of climate change and sea level rise” as a result of the risk to the existing single coastal road that links East End to the rest of Grand Cayman, as well as improving access for tourists.

“Since climate change and sea level rise are a very real concern, NRA recognises the need for an alternative corridor to the current coastal road which is vulnerable to serve storms and coastal flooding,” the release stated.

“The extension of the East-West Arterial (EWA) will also serve as an emergency route when coastal roads are compromised and preserve connectivity between population centres. The project will reduce travel time to and from George Town for East End, North Side and Bodden Town residents and will assist in the promotion and implementation of sustainable public transportation [with] dedicated bus lanes.”

The NRA also claimed it would provide future stormwater management systems and enhance access to tourist attractions.

Nevertheless, the road has stirred up significant concerns about the environment and potential flooding. And while the minister insists that the road is crucial, many people disagree, pointing to the bottleneck at Grand Harbour as the primary cause of the traffic woes.

The plans for the ten-mile long, 160ft wide stretch of multi-lane highway that would extend the existing East-West Arterial from Woodland Drive to Frank Sound Road require the removal of more than 174 acres of undisturbed mangrove habitat.

But the NRA said it was aware of the environmental concerns and the need to protect the Central Mangrove Wetland, and said it was committed to identifying and developing engineering solutions that would minimise unavoidable impacts.

At the end of October, the CI$2 million contract was awarded to a US engineering company, which is expected to spend more than a year examining the threat to mangroves and the related wildlife, as well as the risk of flooding created by cutting through this natural area of drainage.

Email nra@nra.ky with questions or comments about this project.