Upgrade Needed’ Warning Points to Future

Islanders should expect “more roadworks rather than less” in the future, Infrastructure Minister Andy Jehan has said, as various utility and transport networks require upgrades.

Speaking to the States’ Environment, Housing and Infrastructure panel, Constable Jehan warned that delaying essential maintenance would ultimately cause “more disruption” than planned works.

His comments came in response to concerns from Deputy David Warr, who described the summer’s roadworks as “neither co-ordinated nor strategic” and questioned why major works were scheduled all at once during the school holidays.

Jehan said the timing was deliberate, noting that traffic volumes were around 20% lower during the holidays. He added that works in St Clement had been planned for over five years, with extensive consultation with local residents, while work on Trinity Road had been delayed due to higher-priority safety projects elsewhere.

Highlighting the scale of the challenge, Jehan said: “We’ve currently got the local electric company doing a big upgrade. We have over 500 miles of sewers, similar levels of water pipes, and significant gas and electric infrastructure under the roads. We aren’t replacing these as quickly as possible, so there will inevitably be more roadworks in the future.”

He stressed that addressing aging infrastructure now would prevent far greater disruption later, citing recent issues on Trinity Road as an example. “Leaving infrastructure to fail causes far more disruption than planned works,” he said. “Hopefully the public will take comfort that we are finally addressing problems that have been left too long.”