Roseau, Dominica:Â The longest cable car project in the world, is currently being developed in the Commonwealth of Dominica, and has been recording significant progress in its construction process. The 6.6-kilometre engineering marvel will connect the capital, Roseau, with the Boiling Lake.
While the structures are still in the construction phase, the cable car project has achieved several important milestones of progress. As per Prime Minister of Dominica, Dr Roosevelt Skerrit, the project is expected to show rapid progress in 2024.
The project is advancing rapidly in the Roseau Valley, with several steps of construction being either finished or on the verge of completion. As per the updates, the LCS tower foundation and the Deadman anchor installation are progressing towards completion.
The workers have completed the majority of the work such that Deadman anchor logs with 39 of 43 GR weight platforms have been prepared. 240 out of the 280 concrete weights have been casted and piled and tower foundations 14, 16, 17, 18 are set to be flown.
Further, the workers have assembled the LCS Tower, completed the saddles, and assembled the Rigging pallet for flying. Three towers, 1, 7 and 8, have been installed along with a Line 1 winch.
Construction workers have finished work on the bottom station foundation, building and towers. They have started evacuating of Tower One and are taking the excess material from the tower off-site, in a truck.
Further, building foundation 2 has been evacuated and binding concrete has been poured into the foundation. Micropile drilling and grouting have been completed for Tower 8, while the same process was started for Tower seven, but the drill broke.
Further, the workers have finished the excavation for Towers 9, 10, 11, and 12, and the skim coat has been bound. Finally, Tower 13 is currently in the process of excavation.
Construction workers have undertaken trail work improvements to the top station and Tower 13. They are constructing a “construction shed for the rebar bending area and have dug a helipad at Tower 17.
Talking about the progress in the construction of the top station, the foundation for the LCS 18 tower is being dug. Further, they have completed the excavation of the Anchor Hole. The GR Lines have been cleared, and weight platforms are being excavated.
The building area has been measured and the plans for cribbing are underway. Meanwhile, the helipad has been cleared for flattening.
The construction of six buildings, which will be flown to the top station, has already been completed. The six structures which are completed include: 3 Bunkhouses, 1 Kitchen/Dining Room, 1 Office and 1 washhouse.
Stakeholders are expecting a bulk order of Rebar for 385 tonnes of Grade 60 bar currently in production to arrive in February 2024. They have ordered a second Ford Ranger Truck and a top station self-erecting crane from Bigfoot Crane Company is being loaded into containers.
Sharing an update regarding the parking lot, the authorities said that the second retaining wall is 90% complete. The corner to the Bottom Station and to Symzees Villa are in progress.
Second Level excavation, construction of Roadway and wall for the Roadway to Bottom Station in progress.
The structural plans for the Bottom Station have been released, while the architectural plans require finishing details. The Top Station Plans are underway while DOMLEC is working on new plans for power line location due to landowners who are not ready to allow poles on their properties.
The authorities are satisfied with the pace at which the work is currently going. Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit, Minister of Tourism Denise Charles and other members of the Skerrit-led administration have extremely high hopes for the cable car project.
Once the project is complete, it will register the name of the Commonwealth of Dominica in the Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s largest Monocable cable car. The construction of the cable car is also expected to boost the number of tourists that visit the island nation yearly.