By KHRISNA RUSSELL

Deputy Chief Reporter

krussell@tribunemedia.net

BAHAMAS Power and Light Company has warned that traffic delays are expected when it starts its tree trimming exercise Tuesday to prepare the route teams will take to transport engines for its new $95m power plant at Clifton Pier.

The route the teams will take is west along West Bay Street from Arawak Cay to Baha Mar Boulevard, then along Baha Mar Boulevard to JFK, then from JFK to West Street, then along West Street to Serenity Gardens, then through Serenity to Nelson Road and finally along Nelson Road to West Street to Clifton Pier Power Station.

The tree trimming is expected to take approximately one week to complete.

“Preparations continue for the installation of the new 132 megawatt power plant at Station A of Bahamas Power and Light Company Ltd’s Clifton Pier Power Station,” the power provider said in a brief statement Thursday.

“The newest round of preparation is the tree-trimming operation set to begin Tuesday, April 23, and BPL is warning that there will be some traffic disruptions due to these works.

“Beginning on Tuesday, trees overhanging the route along, which the seven new Wärtsilä 50DF multi-fuel engines and generators will be transported will be trimmed back or, where necessary, removed.

“BPL has contracted Enviroscope 2000 to carry out the exercise, and has assured the public that none of the trees affected are of any “protected” species.”

Earlier this week BPL said the seven multi-fuel engines are expected to arrive in the capital on May 4 and will take 23 days to be placed.

It added that the engines were to be commissioned in late summer.

“The refit of Station A at Bahamas Power and Light Co Ltd Clifton Pier Power Station has already been a logistical tour de force, and as the ship scheduled to leave Trieste, Italy, with seven Wärtsilä 50DF multi-fuel engines makes its provisioning stops in preparation to cross the Atlantic, crews are hard at work prepping the hall at Station A for its next life,” according to Monday’s statement.

“Over the next six months, BPL and Wärtsilä will be engaged in a complex, delicate dance that will require absolute perfection to pull off. In broad strokes, the dance starts with getting Station A ready, which will include pouring new foundations for the new engines. This will require more than 2,000 cubic yards of concrete – that’s 200 trucks of concrete – and is the main feature of the preparation of the engine hall. Next will come delivery of the engines, followed by placement – a production in itself – and then delivery and set up of the auxiliary equipment.

“As noted, the preparation of the engine hall is well underway. The foundations for the first two engines have already been laid, with the rest to be completed within the next few weeks.”

The statement continued: “As for the shipping of the engines, they are scheduled to be in Nassau on May 4, although considering that they are crossing the Atlantic, there is some leeway in the expected arrival date.

“The placement of the engines begins with getting them off the ship at the port. Special equipment is already in the pipeline to effect the transfer, including vehicles that will transport each engine from the port to the engine hall.”

This task requires the engines to be transported at walking pace – two miles per hour – from the port to the hall through the night along an already-mapped route with the use of cutting edge digital equipment, BPL said.