Necessity for ring road
around pond increasing
PHILIPSBURG--As the traffic congestion worsen on W.J.A. Nisbeth Road (Pondfill), the necessity for the planned ring road, Link III, around Great Salt Pond has also grown.
The plans for Link III roadway has been dusted out and funding will soon be sought by government for the project: good news for drivers who are stuck in increasingly lengthy traffic jams, according to information reaching The Daily Herald.
The two-lane road will give direct access from Prins Bernhard Bridge to the new Government Administration Building under construction on Pond Island. This should ease congestion on Nisbeth Road and other roadways, connecting it with Cannegieter Street, Back Street and Front Street.
The new roundabout opposite Philipsburg Police Station has eased one traffic bottleneck but has highlighted another: the junction next to utilities company GEBE Head Office.
The ring road, as described in the Development Prospective for Philipsburg and Greater Great Bay Area, compiled by the Almere Group led by Teun Koolhaas in 2003, will relieve the traffic pressure in Philipsburg while creating separation between town bound and drive through traffic.
Based on the development vision, the ring road will ensure rapid flow of motor traffic from one side of Great Salt Pond to the other. All intersections will be linked to the ring road via roundabouts that will provide connection.
The ring road, which will require filling in of another section of the salt pond will, once constructed, also act as “an effective barrier” around the pond to curb any future filling in and preserve what is left of the water table.
The space between the ring road and parallel roads (e.g. Nisbeth Road) around the pond is earmarked for parking lots that will be only accessible from the parallel roads.
A foot path and jogging route were also suggested by the Almere Group for parallel to the ring road along the shore of the pond with shaded resting spaces that offer a good view of the pond and hills.
The group cautioned in the plan that the water storage capacity should not fall below 109 hectares when the developments are planned and carried out. The entire surface of Great Salt Pond, including the stakes, saltpans, should be declared “a site of special historical interest.”
