concept EIA-rapport - Staatsolie

SRK Consulting: Project No: 439414 Staatsolie Pipeline EIA – Draft EIA Report Page 44
4.2.3 Transport infrastructure
4.2.3.1 Roads
Thousands of commuters travel from Wanica to Paramaribo every day, in buses or private cars.
Heavy traffic between these two districts concentrates on three main roads that run in a south –
north direction. Two of these are located within the study area: Martin Luther King Road and Sir
Winston Churchill Road both run through Houttuin and Livorno, where they converge and cross the
Saramacca Canal to Beekhuizen at the bridge to the Van ‘t Hogerhuys Road. Both roads are
surfaced and have one lane in each direction. The bridge over the Saramacca Canal at the Van ‘t
Hogerhuys Road experiences daily traffic jams at peak hours.
Traffic intensity is high on Martin Luther King Road and moderate on Sir Winston Churchill Road.
Most vehicles are passenger vehicles, but Martin Luther King Road in particular also carries
significant numbers of heavy vehicles, transporting materials such as sand, gravel and timberto
Paramaribo. According to a 2007 traffic count of the Road Authority, approximately 40 000 vehicles
crossed the bridge over the Saramacca Canal every day (see traffic count at the bridge in Figure
4-12). As the number of vehicles on the road and traffic intensity has increased further over the last
years, this number is now likely to be higher.
Figure 4-12: Traffic count at the bridge over the Saramacca Canal in 2007
All primary roads in the study area are sealed and include:
• In Ressort Beekhuizen:
o Van ‘t Hogerhuys Road from the bridge at the Saramacca Canal to the
Zwartenhovenbrug Road in the centre of Paramaribo;
• In Ressort Livorno:
o Sir Winston Churchill Road; and
o Martin Luther King Road;
• In Ressort Houttuin:
o Sir Winston Churchill Road;
o Martin Luther King Road; and
o Wilhelmina Road and Cassia Lane.
REUT/DALC 439414_StaatsoliePipelineEIA_Draft EIA Report_Final June 2012