A derelict road in Dockyard is to be renovated to create access for fire and emergency trucks which are too big to reach Commissioner's House.

The road, out of use for the past 75 to 80 years, starts across from Dockyard gate at Pender Road and ends above Snorkel Park. It mostly runs on top of the buildings.

It will be extended by 30 feet so it reaches Commissioner's House upper grounds, said Edward Harris Executive Director at Maritime Museum.

The extension will double as a pump equipment building for West End Development Corporation; the current pump equipment shed will be demolished.

Andrew Dias, of Wedco, said the road would create access for emergency vehicles to the upper ground like EMT and Fire.

"We are not necessarily building a highway into Dockyard, it is restoring a road already there. We want to try and preserve and develop the area in a very respectful manner," Mr. Dias said.

The Wedco and Maritime Museum will clear debris and overgrown trees and level off the road, which measures close to one-eigth-a-mile long, over the next few months.

Volunteers may even start cutting up trees sometime this week.

The road, used from 1825 to the beginning of the 20th Century, was originally a pedestrian walkway for soldiers to get from the old navy base to the Commissioner's House.

A gap currently serving no purpose in the wall, used to have a draw bridge that was lowered for people granted access to Commissioner's House and was later widened to accommodate horse and carriages.

When the restoration work is complete, the gap will be to accommodate the emergency vehicles.