As published by the Cayman Compass
An architect’s rendering of the plan for the new section of the Esterley Tibbetts Highway through Camana Bay.
Major changes to the road network around Camana Bay, including moving a section of the highway and building a new underpass, have been approved by the Central Planning Authority.
Preliminary work on the US$40 million public works project – designed and funded by Dart Realty to facilitate a planned $300 million expansion of Camana Bay – will begin on Monday.
The developer ultimately plans to connect the town center on North Sound to a planned five-star hotel on Seven Mile Beach, using broad landscaped bridges and elevated land. A second underpass on West Bay Road is also planned, though an application has yet to be made for that aspect of the project.
The infrastructure work approved by the Central Planning Authority at its July 8 meeting includes a new road layout, with the current stretch of the Esterley Tibbetts Highway that passes in front of the town center becoming an internal road within Camana Bay. Dart will fund a new four-lane stretch of highway, shifted slightly to the west, between the Camana Bay roundabout and the Galleria roundabout.
Camana Way, which links West Bay Road to the Esterley Tibbetts Highway, will close on Monday, to facilitate utility infrastructure work and the relocation of the Dart Nursery with more than 350 trees.
The developer said in a statement, “Dart Realty was pleased to receive planning permission from the Central Planning Authority for the widening and realignment of the Esterley Tibbetts Highway.”
It added that it was continuing preparation work for the project and working through the necessary technical reviews prior to building permits being issued.
The ultimate plan, which will involve further planning applications and take several years to complete, involves expanding Camana Bay to the west.
Pedestrians will be able to walk from the new hotel on Seven Mile Beach to the current Camana Bay town center along an avenue that bridges both highways, over a large ground-level parking lot.