Presenter:

Capt. Cadet A. Henderson

Chief Executive Officer

Ministry of Works
Belize, C.A.

Honorary Captain
Technical Reservist
Belize Defense Force
Belize, C.A.
 MINISTRY OF WORKS
BELIZE DEFENSE FORCE
Belize, Central America

Military Engineer & Environmental

Conference

“Engineers working together to meet present

and future challenges”

July 25-29, 2011

CCA, Doral, Florida, USA
Originally presented on August 10, 2010
 Belize
Country Presentation

Engineer’s role and environmental

considerations in horizontal and
vertical construction
Belize Overview
General Engineer’s Role
Environmental Considerations
Horizontal Construction
Vertical Construction
Belize’s Participation in Haiti Recovery
Road Safety Trends & Peculiarities
Collaboration & Challenges
Enforcement Strategies
Conclusions
Recommendations
 Population:
Total: 322,000 (178)
Growth Rate: 2.154% (47)
Birth Sex Ratio: at : 1.05 m / f
Now Sex Ratio: 1.03 m / f
Area: Life Expectancy: 68.2 years
Total: 22,966 sq km (151)
World Rank: 158 Male: 66.44 years
Land: 22,806 sq km Female: 70.05 years
Water: 160 sq km Fertility: 3.36 children /
Borders: woman
Total: 516 km Ethnic Groups:
Guatemala: 266 km, Mestizo 48.7%, Creole 24.9%,
Mexico: 250 km Maya 10.6%, Garifuna 6.1%,
Airports:: Other 9.7%
Paved Runways: 4 Religion:
Unpaved Runways: 40 Roman Catholic 49.6%,
Roads: Protestant 27%, Pentecostal
Total: 3,331 Km. (167) 7.4%, Anglican 5.3%, SDA
Paved: 672 Km. 5.2%, Mennonite 4.1%,
Unpaved: 2,659 Km. Methodist 3.5%, Jehovah's
Secondary: 770 Km. Witnesses 1.5%), other 14%,
Feeder: 1,976 Km. none 9.4% (2000)
Languages:
Spanish 46%, Creole 32.9%,
Mayan 8.9%, English 3.9%,
Garifuna 3.4%, German 3.3%
An engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned
with applying experience, scientific knowledge, mathematics and
ingenuity to design and construction and develop solutions for
technological problems. Engineers design materials, structures,
machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by
practicality, safety and cost.
 
Many engineers develop new technological solutions. During the
engineering design process, the responsibilities of the engineer may
include defining problems, conducting and narrowing research,
analyzing criteria, finding and analyzing solutions, and making
decisions on alternatives.
 
Some engineers must weigh different design choices on their merits
and choose the solution that best matches the requirements. Their
crucial and unique task is to identify, understand, and interpret the
constraints on a design in order to produce a successful result.
The ruptured BP oil well in the Gulf of Mexico gushed an estimated 4.9
million barrels (205.8 gallons) of oil in approximately three months, making it
the largest accidental oil spill in history, according to the most recent detailed
analysis by government scientists.
 
Even after subtracting the captured oil, the damaged offshore well spewed 4.1
million barrels (172.2 million gallons) of oil into the waters of the Gulf,
making it far worse than the next largest accidental spill, and second only to
the intentional release of oil by Iraqi forces during the 1991 Gulf War.
June 12, 2010
Dear Cadet Anthony Henderson Sr.,

We appreciate you submitting your Alternative Response Technology (ART)

proposal to the Horizon Support Team. This note is to inform you that we do have
your information on record and will be processing it as soon as possible. You will
be informed of the disposition of your recommendation following technical review.

Thank you!
Horizon Support Team
June 21, 2010
Dear Cadet Anthony Henderson Sr.,

Thank you for your submission to the Alternative

Response Technology (ART) process for the Deepwater
Horizon MC252 incident. Your submission has been
reviewed for its technical merits.

It has been determined that your idea falls into one of

the following ART  categories: Already
Considered/Planned, Not Feasible, or Not Possible, and
therefore will not be advanced for further evaluation.  To
date, we have received over 80,000 submissions with
each submission receiving individual consideration and
priority based on merit and need.

BP and Horizon Deepwater Unified Command

appreciate your contribution and interest in responding
to this incident.

Thank you very much,

Horizon Response Team
 Green design is not merely the
use of energy-efficient
materials. It also involves the
creation of products and
systems that leave a light
footprint on the environment
over the full life cycle.

Sustainable green design should

be thought of as a process, not
just a goal—allowing for a
broader evaluation of the
environmental, economical and
societal impacts of product, as
single units and as part of their
environment.
Road designs must cater
for migrating animals,
existing natural
environmental features
and other unique
occurrences that are worth
preserving

Preserve a cave that serves

as natural drainage of the
area and maintain tourist
attraction while the
objective of the road is still
accomplished safely.
 With rising sea level
and increasing wave
activity, shore
protection must be
more fortified

Sometimes walls
could be aesthetic
and functional
using low cost
solutions
12
 Deteriorated canal
walls with heavy silt
deposit, debris and risk
of vehicles accidentally
plunging into water

Improved ambience
with deep lined canal,
with safety barrier,
providing better traffic
flow and wider
carriageway
 MOW, BDF and US
Military conducting
joint demolition
exercises on century old
bridges

Some old bridges deteriorate

rapidly once they are not in use
 Old bridge too low
and narrow, demands
high maintenance
and floods some 14
days / annum

New low cost solution

is expected to flood
only 3 days / annum
and reduce loss of life
The earliest archaeological record
of an advanced system of
drainage comes from the Indus
Valley Civilization from around
3100 BC in what is
now Pakistan and North India.
The ancient Indus systems
of sewerage and drainage that
were developed and used in cities
throughout the civilization were
far more advanced than any
found in contemporary urban
sites in the Middle East and even
more efficient than those in some
areas of modern Pakistan and
India today.
 Placencia Road near
Riversdale flooded like
a river in 2007 for more
than a mile leaving
motorist stranded for
over 24 hrs.

New Placencia Road

virtually eliminate
that risk by use of
canal and side drains
connected to sea and
lagoon.
Seattle's Public Utilities created a pilot
program called Street Edge Alternatives
(SEA Streets) Project. The project focuses
on designing a system "to provide drainage
that more closely mimics the natural
landscape prior to development than
traditional piped systems". The streets are
characterized by ditches along the side of the
roadway, with plantings designed
throughout the area.

An emphasis on non curbed sidewalks

allows water to flow more freely into the
areas of permeable surface on the side of the
streets. Because of the plantings the run off
water from the urban area does not all
directly go into the ground but can also be
absorbed into the surrounding environment.
According to the monitoring by Seattle
Public Utilities, they report a 99 percent
reduction of storm water leaving the
drainage project area.
Bridges
Roads
Piers
Wharves
Drainage
Sewage
Water
Distribution
Oil Pipe
Lines
Aerodromes
Sea Defence
Urban
Layout
Beaches
Railways
 A residential home in
the Capital City with
extended roof overhang
to maximize solar
protection (pic taken
5:50 am)

A small apartment /
hotel in a coastal
Village in southern
Belize designed to be
hurricane resistant and
tidal wave conscious.
 A few modern
buildings in
Belize designed
to suit the
spatial
limitations and
the existing
environment.
 Other vertical construction that are slender are most
vulnerable and efforts are being made to increase their
hurricane competence to Category 5 standard.
 The Challillo Dam in a
gravity RCC Dam that is
similay in cross section to
the Mayan Temples of
the region and is
considered to be a very
safe dam.

This is the Altun Ha

Mayan Temple of
Central Belize and is
also of similar profile
as the Central Bank
Building of Belize.
Com. Towers
Light Houses
Reservoirs
High Rises
Residences
Edifices
Dams
 Brig. Gen. Dario Tapia, Commander, BDF
"It's a good signal to the country that we have the will to
be able to assist them in a time of need because it could
happen to Haiti today, tomorrow it could be Belize.".
Light
Engineer
Company
3 Initial
deployments
30 Soldiers
Put Belize on
the map
Learn
process &
procedures
 Particulars 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
         
Total RTA Deaths 57 56 56 41 64 52
Ditto Variance - -1.8% 0.0% -26.8% 56.1% -18.8%
Fatality Index 0.023 0.021 0.024 0.018 0.026 0.022
Total Accidents 2508 2622 2349 2316 2460 2355
Ditto Variance - 4.5% -10.4% -1.4% 6.2% -4.3%
Population 274122 282,600 291,800 301,299 311,107 321,233
Death/100,000 Pop. 20.8 19.8 19.2 13.6 20.6 16.2
Ditto Variance - -4.7% -3.2% -29.1% 51.2% -21.3%
Vehicles 45,580 48,771 53,000 56,710 60,680 64,927
Death/10,000 Veh. 12.5 11.5 10.6 7.2 10.5 8.0
Ditto Variance - -8.2% -8.0% -31.6% 45.9% -24.1%
Smeed's Law * 44.7 46.6 49.0 51.2 53.5 55.9
Ditto Variance 27.6% 20.1% 14.3% -19.9% 19.7% -6.9%
Pop / Veh Ratio 6.0 5.8 5.5 5.3 5.1 4.9
MV / 1000 Pop. 166.3 172.6 181.6 188.2 195.0 202.1

* D=0.0003(NP^2)^.333
 Belize
1996: 32.0 deaths / 100K
Global RTA
2004: 18.8 deaths / 100K
Deaths
2005: 19.2 deaths / 100K
2006: 13.6 deaths / 100K
2007: 20.6 deaths / 100K
2008: 16.2 deaths / 100K

LAC
7% World Population
13% World RTA Deaths
14% Worlds Vehicles
 RTA Fatalities 2006

TOL 2

SCK 7

CYO 14

BZE 6

OWK 3

CZL 9

0 5 10 15
 Most accidents on
Western Highway
occur on Limestone
Pavement and
shortly after light
rains

MOW Plans to
replace all limestone
pavement with poor
skid resistance by
December 2010
Corozal:
•Highest incidence of driver fatality
Orange Walk:
•Highest incidence of cyclist fatality
Belize:
•Highest incidence of passenger fatality
Cayo:
•Highest incidence of pedestrian fatality
Stann Creek:
•Alternates with Corozal in suicide drivers
Toledo:
Lowest incidence with mostly cyclist and pedestrian
deaths
 10 Leading Causes of Death – Belize 2001 RANK CASES RATE

Transport Accident 1 87 6.9%

Pulmonary Circulation and Other Forms of Heart 2 82
6.5%
Diseases
Hypertensive Disease 3 72 5.7%
Diabetes Mellitus 4 71 5.6%
Acute Respiratory Infections 5 69 5.5%
Ischaemic Heart Disease 6 69 5.5%
Cerebrovascular Disease 7 59 4.7%
Homicide & Injury Purposefully Inflicted on Other 8 54
4.3%
Persons
Other Chronic Pulmonary Disease, Diseases Due to 9 44
3.5%
External Agents and Residual
Accidental Drowning and Submersion 10 41 3.3%
SUB-T0TAL CAUSES   648 51.4%
Symptoms, Signs and Ill-Defined Conditions   28 2.2%
Residual   18 1.4%
TOTAL OTHER CAUSES   567 45.0%
TOTAL ALL CAUSES   1261 100.0%
Support and assistance from Insurance Companies
(past alliance resulted in implementation of effective
safety measures)
Alliance with Police and review of accident data can
help to identify strategies to maximize our
effectiveness.
Collaboration with Department of Transport can
enable tactful enforcement focus and interventions on
accident black spots using actual intelligence of area.
With scarce resources for road safety, private
investment in the adoption of road segments should be
encouraged.
Increase Signage and caution indicators
Install new crash barriers and replace damaged ones
Resurface poor skid resistance road surfaces
Upgrade line markings and reflective road studs
Upgrade bridges to 2 lanes
Replace ferries with permanent bridges
Construct islands to separate opposing traffic
Improve vegetation control around curves
Provide pedestrian sidewalks through villages
Public awareness and media campaign
Patrols, ticketing & apprehensions ( Municipal and highways)
Weigh Station and check points
Comprehensive Law revision and declaration
Appropriate fines for violations
Electronic controls and monitoring
Traffic lights
Surveillance cameras and speed cameras
GPS tracking
Speed guns and breathalyzers
Public education and driver training
Appropriate road safety features
Channelization (line marking & cat’s eyes)
Barriers / medians / islands
Speed deterrence (bumps, ramps, rumble strips, etc…)
Speed restriction
Junction control / management
There should be a safety committee reviewing statistics
and its monitoring indicators and advocating for a larger
slice of the pie.
It must be a collaborative effort in order to accomplish
targeted objectives.
Road maintenance and safety initiatives needs increased
funding to afford consistency and exceed minimum
standards.
Quantifiable targets with projected time lines must be
in place.
Insurance companies should contribute to road safety.
Works and Transport Departments should be together.
Increase budget for road maintenance and rehabilitation
Increase focus on safety mitigation
Address all accident black spots
Ensure appropriate technical input in road design with a
focus on junction improvements and road segments exceeding
6,000 vpd
Increase enforcement efforts against abusive and negligent
motorists
Support more road safety education in schools and general
public awareness
Implement National Strategic plan
Improve air rescue capability
 Government of Belize
Belize, C.A.
Phone: 501-822-0959
Fax: 501-822-3282
E-mail: cadethenderson@yahoo.com