On the boardwalk: A worker taking a stroll along the almost completed project.

WITHIN the next four months Barbadians and visitors alike should be able to experience a cool and refreshing stroll along a section of this island's South Coast.

Work has been progressing steadily on a boardwalk which will run for just under a mile from Rockley Beach to Hastings, all in Christ Church.

Project Manager Antonio Rowe said the project which is being undertaken by the Coastal Zone Management Unit and started in June last year was scheduled to be completed in August.

It is a joint venture between the Barbados Government and the Inter-American Development Bank costing $18.4 million, with the majority coming from the hemispheric bank. It is also part of the overall Coastal Infrastructure Project.

To ensure the highest quality, the project managers have sourced IPE hardwood from Brazil; granite stones from Halifax, Canada; while the sand is from the stockpile at the Flour Mill site which was dredged from the Bridgetown Port during expansion work there.

The 1.2 kilometre-project has a number of interesting features including one offshore breakwater and five headlands. It is going to have 14 000 kilometres of sand which will allow for a beach area by the popular Hastings Rocks where there has been none for many years.

One of the innovations being considered for the project is the use of solar powered lights.

Rowe gave an assurance that much study and analysis had gone into the project which meant that it should be safe from things such as rising tides, except in extreme circumstances such as a hurricane. (ES)