Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I am informed by the Road Development Authority – the question is whether I can check with the Road Development Authority. The Road Development Authority is under the aegis of my colleague, the Minister of National Infrastructure; in its capacity is as the highway authority, the latter has the following two projects in the pipeline which would contribute towards reducing traffic congestion and travel time along the motorway M1, Hillcrest Avenue and St Jean Road, as

84 well as enhance accessibility by providing an alternative route from Quatre Bornes to Ebène and vice versa – 1. Construction of a link road between Motorway M1 at Hillcrest and Motorway M3 at Trianon. The project consists of the construction of the dual carriageway from the Hillcrest interchange to a new interchange onto motorway M3 at Trianon; 2. Construction of the Pellegrin-Trianon link road. The link road comprises of the construction of a single carriageway of approximately 150 metres long from motorway M3 to Petit Camp Branch Road. It will eventually connect the newly constructed dumbbell junction on motorway M3 to development in Trianon for improved connectivity. Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I am further informed by the TRMSU of my Ministry that despite the construction of a great separated junction in August 2021 by the previous regime at the cost of Rs276 million plus, excluding VAT. Hillcrest Road in Sodnac continues to suffer from severe traffic congestion particularly during morning peak hours. This is not just an inconvenience; it is a significant impediment to daily commuters and overall traffic flow in the region. The TRMSU has identified two main impediments – 1. The signalised intersection at Tulips Avenue interrupting flow on Hillcrest which were installed by the Road Development Authority during the upgrading works at Hillcrest Road; 2. A dangerously inadequate motorway acceleration lane, very short in fact that forces police to manually meter traffic causing severe queues to spill back into Hillcrest. Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, in fact, I have made a visit there before, on request of my honourable colleagues and yourself. Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, even with the great separation traffic on Hillcrest Road is not free-flowing. In fact, the traffic lights at the junction with Tulips Avenue are primary cause of this interruption. Every time the lights turn red, traffic stops and queues quickly build up. Therefore, during peak time the intersection simply cannot handle the volume leading to frustrating delays and congestion that stretch far beyond the traffic lights themselves. Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, the most arguably critical issue is the acceleration lane that was constructed in 2021 by the previous regime for joining the motorway is simply too short. Around 75 metres and it is, therefore, very unsafe.

85 The recommended acceleration lane on motorway should be at least 150 metres long for vehicles to gather cruising speed. Drivers cannot safely merge into fast moving motorway traffic without sufficient space to accelerate. This dangerous design flaw forces our police officers to step in during peak hours acting as manual meter as I said just now. They have to hold back vehicles, releasing them in small batches to prevent accidents. While this ensures safety, it severely limits how many cars can get into the motorway. Long queues are formed on the rent, extending all the way back onto Hillcrest Road. This spill-back directly chokes Hillcrest Road making the congestion even worse especially around the Tulip Avenue intersection. Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, according to TRMSU, consideration should be given for linking the Hillcrest roundabout with motorway M3 through an internal road network of Petit Camp, Pellegrin and also linking Marbella Road with Hillcrest roundabout. Lastly, this will provide an additional alternative route for traffic along Hillcrest Road to proceed in the region of Trianon to join motorway M3 to ultimately proceeds toward the Cyber City and Port Louis or the North of island. Motorway linking Marbella Road with Hillcrest roundabout will also contribute to decrease the traffic loading at St Jean interchange as traffic generated by three malls will have an alternative route toward Quatre Bornes, and ultimately, motorway M1 through Hillcrest roundabout. The Road Development Authority should include this project in the road decongestion problem.

Just one question.

Just one question, I hope.

Je vous remercie, M. le président. M. le président, le Dr. Arvin Boolell, vous et moi, nous savons qu’aux heures de pointe, un embouteillage monstre se forme chaque jour sur l’axe ralliant Hillcrest à l’autoroute.

Okay, ask the Minister for the remedial measures.

En attendant les travaux, le ministre peut-il indiquer à la Chambre si son ministère envisage de mettre en place un système de déviation afin de désengorger Hillcrest et ses environs ? Je vous remercie, M. le président.

During the site visit that I effected, I mentioned earlier, about two months ago actually, I was told that bringing traffic to St Jean Road will make it even

86 worse because St Jean Road is already choked and, as you know, the Metro line is exactly in the middle. So, the real solution lies at the doorstep of my colleague, the hon. Ajay Gunness, because if you link road linking that road to M1 is constructed, this will be the solution but like I said, we have tried all the possible avenue but we will do it again on request of the hon. Member.

The Hon. Second member for Grand’ Baie & Poudre D'or! NATIONAL PENSION FUND – DISMANTLING & REPLACEMENT – IMPACTS