A Deputy Opposition Leader said it was totally unacceptable of Government to build replacement retaining walls elsewhere when Devon Springs Road in Devonshire had been closed for two years.

Devonshire East MP Michael Dunkley said two walls at Devon Springs Road and Loyal Hill Pass had needed attention for years but nothing had been done.

?Devon Springs Road has been closed for close to two years,? Mr. Dunkley said. ?Its totally unacceptable. Their assessment was that it was a private road. But if it was private then why drill wells there??

He added it was ?ridiculous? for a major thoroughfare to South Shore Road for a number of homes to have been closed so long, particularly when it was also an access for the Mid-Atlantic Wellness Institute.

?Based on the road traffic problems in Bermuda Government should come to the wicket and resolve this,? he said.

In addition, residents had to ?zig-zag? their way past Loyal Hill Pass since an embankment had crumbled away, he said.

Mr. Dunkley wrote to new Works and Engineering Minister Sen. David Burch a few weeks ago, he said, however, was still waiting for a response.

Mr. Dunkley made his comments in relation to three recent Planning applications by the Ministry of Works and Engineering and Housing to built three walls.

At Government House, 46 feet of reinforced block and concrete wall, maximum height of nine-feet, six-inches, were planned, Northlands Primary School was also listed to get a 70 foot long, six-foot six-inch high wall.

Sandys Secondary Middle School will get the longest wall at 105 feet long, the maximum height of which will be 14-feet eight inches tall, reducing to approximately five feet tall.

The price of the retaining walls had still not been provided by the Ministry of Works and Engineering.

Alex DeCouto Vice President Construction Association of Bermuda said there were too many variables involved in building a wall, such as demolition, excavation costs, imported fill, traffic control, sidewalks, finishes, railings at the top and resurfacing of adjacent roads, to guess at an accurate estimate for the three walls.

As a result, he said retaining walls can cost anywhere from $200 to $1000 per lineal foot.

Neither Sen. Burch nor Permanent Secretary Russell Wade responded to questions about the price of the walls, or provided an update on Devon Springs Road yesterday.