British Virgin Islands: Road, Slopes and Coastal Defences

IMC Worldwide is part of a consortium appointed by the Ministry of Finance of the British Virgin Islands for an assignment, funded by the Caribbean Development Bank, to support the reconstruction of essential road infrastructure.

In 2017, the British Virgin Islands suffered extensive damage and widespread devastation from the passage of Hurricanes Irma and Maria, followed by torrential rainfall. There was severe damage to the road network on the western and north western portion of Tortola and Virgin Gorda islands. Sea defences in different areas were destroyed and now require replacement and upgrading. With this consultancy, the Government of the Virgin Islands (GOVI) intends to reconstruct stretches of the essential road network infrastructure including coastal defences in 11 selected sites across the islands of Tortola and Virgin Gorda.

IMC, as a subcontractor of a regional firm, is providing the following services:
– Climate Risk Vulnerability Assessment. This study will evaluate the potential effects of climate change on the stretches of road included in the project, sea defences, the surrounding watersheds and communities affected. It will recommend cost effective resiliency measures and revisions to design criteria to mitigate the identified risks and vulnerabilities.
– Design Development. The necessary surveys will be carried out, and engineering designs appropriate to the laid-down design criteria will be prepared. The end result will be documents that provide a complete and fully functional infrastructure aimed at providing complete and accurate information to all potential bidders for the construction works. IMC’s inputs, led by WSP, will be focused on coastal modelling and coast protection options for the preliminary design phase and final design report.