Are Belize’s Roads Keeping Up? Rising Traffic, Rising Risks
Traffic is picking up, and so are the risks. With more vehicles on Belize’s highways, deadly head-on collisions are becoming an all-too-common reality, raising a critical question: are the country’s roads keeping up with the demand? Tonight, we look at whether it’s time for Belize to move toward safer, modern four-lane highways with medians. As the government pours millions into upgrading the George Price and Phillip Goldson Highways, News Five’s Paul Lopez examines whether those investments go far enough to protect lives.
Paul Lopez, Reporting
On Belize’s highways, a simple miscalculation can have deadly consequences. With just two lanes, one in each direction, drivers often share narrow corridors where overtaking becomes risky, leading to close calls like this one. Advocates are calling for a major upgrade, four-lane highways with median dividers, to keep opposing traffic apart and cut down on deadly head-on crashes. And with the government spending millions of dollars on rehabilitating the George Price and Phillip Goldson highways, the question is why not now? Well, according to Minister of Infrastructure Development Julius Espat, building roads of that scale is not simply a matter of desire, it is a matter of demand and cost.
Julius Espat
Julius Espat, Minister of Infrastructure Development
“I think social media and access to everybody in the world and the way other countries do things, influence the way we think. When a highway is designed, you cant tell and IFI I want a highway six lanes wide and its just automatic. They send in financial experts, technical experts to determine if the flow of traffic you have, based on the number of people you have justifies a road of such magnitude.”
Espat explains that while countries with larger populations may support expansive highway systems, Belize’s relatively small population makes such investments difficult to justify.
Julius Espat
“If we are complaining right now that the cost of highways are too high, which we have a right to look at cost and complain, but imagine if there would be four lanes then the cost would be tremendous.”
The government is taking a different approach, adding dedicated passing lanes so drivers can overtake safely without expanding to full four-lane highways.
Julius Espat
“So, in certain areas of the GPH, you will notice that you will have double lanes on one section and then on the other side you will have dual lanes on another section, its called passing lanes.”
New data is putting the spotlight on road safety, more than three thousand traffic accidents were recorded in 2025, and ninety-four turned deadly. For many road users, those numbers tell a troubling story. They argue that separating traffic with divided lanes could save lives, especially along busy stretches like the Philip Goldson and George Price highways.
Julius Espat
“It’s a gradual process. When our term is complete, hopefully we have been able to achieve a certain level and then another government could be the same party, but another will come in and hopefully they will look at what we have done and better it and that is how you better your infrastructure in a country.”
For now, the government’s focus remains on expanding access, opening new routes and improving connectivity, particularly for rural communities and farmers. But the bigger question still looms, as Belize continues to grow, can its road network keep up, not just in capacity, but in safety? Reporting for News Five, I am Paul Lopez
Attention readers: This online newscast is a direct transcript of our evening television broadcast. When speakers use Kriol, we have carefully rendered their words using a standard spelling system.