Havre des Pas back on track after high-voltage cable fixed at Ronez

Tuesday 01 February 2022

The electricity supply problem that caused the resurfacing of Havre des Pas to be paused last week has been fixed and the project is back on track.

Last week, work was halted due to technical problems at Ronez's asphalt manufacturing plant in St. John.

Havre Des Pas was closed to all traffic earlier last month to enable the works, as well as the installation of raised tables and pedestrian crossing improvements.

The road was due to remain closed for approximately seven weeks as the works were carried out.

The fault was a failure of an underground 11,000 volt supply to the quarry and asphalt plant. 

Ronez Managing Director Mike Osborne said: “It was inside the Ronez electrical supply infrastructure and not the JEC side, but with it being high-voltage, the JEC were heavily involved in identifying the cable that failed, and then locating the exact spot to excavate and then repair. 

Pictured: The electrical fault occurred under Ronez's base near Sorel in St. John.

“This was not easy, but was achieved, and power was restored on Friday evening, more than three days after the failure on Tuesday lunchtime.

“The fault itself was at a joint that was made only four years ago when we upgraded our HV electrical infrastructure, so it was really bad luck and nothing that anyone could have foreseen or prevented through maintenance.

“I have to say, the JEC were brilliant and deserve full credit for fixing the problem so quickly.”

A Government spokesperson said: “The supply of asphalt for the Havre des Pas roadworks has resumed and the resurfacing work is therefore now back underway. 

“Work on tasks that didn’t require asphalt continued last week. As things stand, it is currently anticipated that the project will finish on schedule before the end of February. We’d like to thank Ronez for rectifying their technical issues so promptly.”

After the important arterial road into St. Helier was closed, a number of road users took to social media to decry the "absolute carnage" it had caused, with some reporting being stuck in resulting traffic for up to an hour as a result.