The North and Middle Caicos Causeway
North and Middle Caicos
Located in the shallow south-eastern end of Bottle Creek Lagoon, The North and Middle Caicos Causeway is a 1 mile (1.6 km) long limestone quarry fill embankment roadway connecting North Caicos to Middle Caicos. Two small concrete bridges and many corrugated HDPE pipe culverts allow for natural tidal movement.
Current Condition
The causeway is currently in excellent condition.
Repairs have been made to the serious hurricane damage that occurred during Hurricane Ike and Hurricane Hanna in 2008 and the causeway is now completely repaved and safe for any vehicle traffic. Two full lanes are maintained for the entire distance.
Whereas the causeway itself is in good condition, care should still be taken when driving on the surrounding roads as potholes and rough transitions between unpaved sections and asphalt still exist in the general area.
History
Before the construction of the causeway in 2007, the only link between North Caicos and Middle Caicos was by small boat. Needless to say, this wasn’t acceptable for two large islands separated only by a shallow channel.
The financing for the project came from the European Union’s 9th European Development Fund (EDF9).
Initially, when completed, the causeway was paved with asphalt, had concrete side walls and full street lighting. However, these features proved to be short-lived as Hurricane Hanna passed twice over the Turks and Caicos over a matter of days and caused extensive damage to the causeway.
Nearly all of the asphalt paving was washed off in sheets, the concrete barriers collapsed, and much of the street lighting and utilities simply disappeared. Large amounts of rebar were exposed, as was the ground barrier sheeting.
The bulk of the rock and crushed limestone embankment remained, however, the width at high tide barely allowed for a vehicle to pass.
The condition persisted with only minor repairs until 2014 when a major refurbishment project began.