… by implementing stringent ‘road access plan’

BARTICA’S municipal authorities will submit early next month a road plan that will regulate the movement of large mining vehicles within the town.

Mayor Gifford Marshall told the Guyana Chronicle that the municipality wants to submit, no later than May 14, “a road access plan” that will prevent the unauthorised movement of heavy mining vehicles and other machines from entering residential and more community-oriented spaces within the town.

The mayor explained that the subject of the road and its rapid deterioration soon after construction came up recently, when Minister of Public Infrastructure David Patterson paid the region a visit, and that the minister was none too happy about it.
And what the authorities have come to realise, he said, is that it is the heavy-laden heavy-duty trucks that are responsible for the early deterioration of the roads.

“These large trucks that we are talking about,” he said, “are carrying 80 to 100 drums of fuel, and they have a negative impact on the road infrastructure.”
He said that having identified the problem, the game-plan then is to restrict those heavy-duty vehicles from using central roads within the town.

“So, if you are living in the West Indian Housing area, there is no need for those large trucks to be driving through there,” Mayor Marshall said.
He said, too, that areas such as First Avenue and First Street will also be out of bounds for large trucks, because it is where the tourism zone, which includes beautiful beach-front development and businesses, is located.

Should these trucks need to access any of the inner streets, he said, special permission would have to be sought and granted.
Noting that the movement of the large trucks through residential areas is hazardous, the mayor explained that the fuel often falls on the roadway, “and that does not agree with the asphalt”.

Another concern of his is the safety of young children, particularly those playing within their communities. The large trucks go to and fro and not only do they pose a danger going through the communities with gallons of gasolene and diesel, but also there’s the fear of contaminating the environment should there be a spillage of fuel.
That said, Marshall said the municipality’s plan is to identify the roads that the trucks could access, so they can be rehabilitated in such a way as to accommodate the mostly large ‘bush trucks’ moving in and out of the interior.

The main purpose of Minister Patterson’s visit to Bartica, the mayor said, was to get a first-hand look at the two main crossings linking Mahdia and Bartica.
Word is that the Ministry of Public Infrastructure has ongoing works on the roads from Mahdia to the Denham Bridge, and Mile 78 on the Bartica-Potaro Trail to Mile 96 (Cassandra Crossing).

Reports are that roads in Region Seven would be tolled. Marshall clarified that it would only apply to the main access roads linking the two regions – Regions Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni) and Eight (Potaro-Siparuni).

“Minister Patterson proposed that when the road is complete, a toll may be introduced,” the mayor said, adding that the toll at reference speaks specifically to access to Regions Seven and Eight, which he said would aid with the maintenance of the road so that Central Government would not have to finance its repairs.
The mayor further explained that the road plan to be designed for Bartica does not include this major road, as it falls within the jurisdiction of the Infrastructure ministry, rather than the township.

The Regional Democratic Council (RDC), however, will be responsible for the collection of the toll, which will go directly towards maintenance of the road.
Marshall noted, however, that the focus for the town is not on the tolls but rather the economic opportunities that will soon be open to both Bartica and Mahdia, and the easy access between the Cuyuni-Mazaruni and Potaro-Siparuni Regions.

Significant strides are also being made regarding Mahdia’s roads, as, according to the Ministry, approximately 3,800 feet of concrete roads and drains are being constructed within that township.

The ministry disclosed, “To date, the project is more than 75 per cent complete, and is expected to wrap up shortly.”