By Svetlana Marshall

AFTER more than five years of having to put up with deplorable roads, residents of Four Miles, Bartica could expect significant repairs in the coming months, according to Mayor Gifford Marshall.While the Bartica Mayor and Town Council is in no position to rehabilitate the community’s main access road at the estimated cost of $48M, it has lobbied Central Government to have the main access road and internal roads repaired.

A commitment, on the part of the government, has since been made to have monies allocated for repairs to be executed no later than this year.

“We are confident that the powers that be will make the funds available so construction can commence soon,” Marshall told Guyana Chronicle.

While acknowledging that the repairs cannot be executed during the rainy season, residents are hoping to have the project done as soon as the rainy season ends.

“Is not just one road bad, all them roads bad,” Collette Benjamin said as she cited roads in Four Miles which are riddled with huge potholes.
LENGTHY JOURNEY
A number of buses in the public transportation system ply the route but due to the state of the road, the journey is usually a lengthy one.

“What choice do they have, the road damaging their buses, and it takes forever to get into Four Miles but people got to make a living,” she posited.

“We know that nothing can’t do now because of the weather but we are hoping they can be fixed soonest because is long we complaining,” she added.

According to Benjamin, in 2006 the then government had constructed a temporary road with the promise of building an asphalt road. However, the project never materialized.

VEHICLE REPAIRS
Shemella Rafeek, another resident, who also complained about not having a road to access her Lot 255 residence, said she is forced to constantly repair her vehicle due to the appalling state of the roads.

“Dem roads brukin-up meh car and car parts expensive bad, dem need to grade it or something,” Rafeek pleaded.

Debra Brown, one of the APNU+AFC councillors who resides at Four Miles, expressed the hope that the road when repaired will be covered with asphalt. “It is not just the roads, we need proper drainage,” she added.

In addition to making representation on behalf of the residents of Four Miles, the Bartica Mayor and Town Council has successfully secured the help of government to have roads in Byderabo and Central Bartica repaired.

The Ministry of Public Infrastructure will be maintaining the internal roads and the Byderabo ‘back road’ for more than $50M. Additionally, the Ministry of Communities will be pumping $20M into developing the Byderabo Hill ‘Top Road.’