The Ministry of Housing, Transport, Water and Works has been granted $121 million for the widening of the Washington Boulevard corridor.

Details of the project are outlined in the 2007/08 Estimates of Expenditure, now before the House of Representatives.

The main target for this financial year is the acquisition of 100 per cent of the land that is required for the project.

This project, which is funded by the Government and the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), will serve to enhance economic productivity by reducing the amount of time that people spend in traffic, through widening of the corridor.

The expansion works should reduce high fuel consumption due to congestion, as well as reduce the vehicle operating cost, due to poor ride quality.

More specifically, the project aims to improve travel time for buses and other motorists as well as the carrying capacity of the corridor.

In this regard, the dualisation of Washington Boulevard and Dunrobin Avenue will improve the travel time for buses during peak periods, by an estimated 64 per cent, as well as improve the carrying capacity of the corridor from 1,600 to 3,800 vehicles per hour in each direction.