PM Defends Highway Upgrade: “It’s No Longer a Real Highway”

As debate heats up over the fifty-million-dollar George Price Highway upgrade, Prime Minister John Briceño is pushing back against critics who say the project is too expensive. In response to Lee Mark Chang’s claim that the road is still in good shape, the prime minister made it clear: the highway has outlived its usefulness and no longer meets international standards. “It can’t even be called a highway anymore,” Briceño said. He explained that the government will cover part of the cost and is actively seeking additional financing to complete the eighteen-mile stretch between Belmopan and La Democracia. The hefty price tag, he noted, reflects the scale of the work needed to bring the road up to modern standards, something he says is long overdue. With both sides digging in, the road ahead for this project may be just as bumpy as the one it’s meant to fix.

 

Prime Minster John Briceño

“Really totally confused about what he is talking about. But I will just make a few points, the development of a country and its economy is based on infrastructure. We can’t run away from that. Maybe he has not been enough on the Goerge Price Highway. Maybe he does not realize that this highway is the most dangerous highway in this country, it has the most accident and people are dying. This highway connects the north to the west. The amount of trucks and wright can no longer handle it. That road was built in the seventies and eighties. It has long passed its time. The shoulders have been breaking off. Right now it does not meet international standards to be called a highway. You talk about the price, before you make these outlandish remarks you should check and not embarrass yourself. You have to strengthen the road, bridges, culverts, but also it is going to be hot mix.”

In concluding his response, P.M. Briceño argued that the U.D.P. has no moral authority to speak on the cost of the road works when eight million dollars were spent on constructing the Faber’s Road extension.