Linden/Lethem roadway deteriorating –minibus drivers call for permanent solution
Treacherous sections of the Linden/Lethem roadway
Treacherous sections of the Linden/Lethem roadway

By Alva Solomon

SECTIONS of the Linden/Lethem roadway have been deteriorating in recent weeks, and minibus drivers are calling on the authorities to develop a permanent solution to improve the condition of the roadway.At the same time, Government will be re-opening discussions with the Brazilians in regard to upgrading the roadway.

Treacherous sections of the Linden/Lethem roadway
Treacherous sections of the Linden/Lethem roadway

Hinterland areas have been experiencing heavy rainfall in recent weeks, and sections of this roadway have begun deteriorating, with potholes developing.

“We take as much as 13 hours now (to travel from Lethem to Linden) because it usually is about nine hours one way,” a minibus driver noted on Monday. He said that at the moment the problematic areas along the thoroughfare are located between Linden and Mabura, where smaller potholes are being created in existing craters.

He added that there are sections of the road shoulders which have been washed away because of the rainy conditions.

A bus operator at Lethem opined that the roadway should have been upgraded during the dry weather conditions. He also said that the scope of maintenance works on parts of the road in recent months has seen earth being thrown along the road, with little compacting.

“The mud now would wash away,” he said, as he called on the authorities to develop a permanent solution to the problem.

Mike Williams of the North Rupununi District Development Council (NRDDC) told this newspaper that the scope of maintenance works on the roadway need to be examined by the authorities, since almost annually heavy rainfall has been washing sections of the road into the swampy areas nearby.

“This is something that happening for years, so I hope it is looked at,” he said.

On Sunday afternoon, President David Granger told reporters at the Pegasus Hotel that the Government will re-open talks with the Brazilians on upgrading the roadway.
He said he had spoken with the then President of Brazil, Dilma Rousseff, on the issue when he had visited the neighbouring country last year.

“When the dust settles, we will re-engage the Brazilians,” he said, noting that the project was started since in 1982.

There have been discussions on the state of the road in recent years. The road’s condition is impacted mainly by rainfall, which causes water from the highlands in the Rupununi to seep into the savannahs and eventually inundate the roadway.

In June 2010, sections of the road south of the Kurupukari Crossing on the Essequibo River had become impassable, and minibuses and trucks had been left stranded on the roadway for days as the condition worsened.

Closer to Linden, heavy rainfall had also caused traversing of the roadway to become treacherous in some parts, affecting traffic to Lethem and Mahdia.

In January 2012, this publication had reported that a feasibility study aimed at improving the roadway was completed, and then Foreign Affairs Minister Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett had disclosed that information relative to the study would have been shared with Brazil, as discussions regarding the project had reached an advanced stage.

During a meeting with former President Jagdeo in July 2011, Governor of the State of Roraima, Jose de Achieta Junior, had discussed the possibility of Brazil financing the Linden/Lethem road project.

The stretch of roadway can be divided into the following sections: Wismar to Mabura Hill, Mabura Hill to 15 Miles, and 15 Miles to Lethem.

The Linden-to-Lethem road is one of the most important road networks used by heavy volumes of traffic travelling to the hinterland areas. It is considered an important economic link, which can create business among other opportunities for many, including locals.

 

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