BIDS tendered for the installation of road lights from Vreed-en-Hoop to Parika, along the West Coast Demarara /East Bank Essequibo Highway, were opened on September 15 last.

Evaluation to select the most suitable bidder to award the contract was ongoing last week by a committee set up by the National Procurement and Tender Administration, paving the way for the Ministry of Public Works and Communications to seek ‘no objection’ from the Inter-American Development Bank and the Government of Guyana, respectively.

A total of 358 lights would be installed in the densely populated areas along the highway, and the project will be executed under the Road Safety Component of the Transport Infrastructure Rehabilitation Programme.

Funding for the project is by the Inter-American Development Bank and the Government of Guyana under a counterpart funding arrangement.

Traffic Safety Engineer in the Ministry of Public Works and Communications, Nigel Erskine, in a telephone interview with the Chronicle last week, noted that the awarding of the contract is based on the decision of Cabinet.

He however anticipates that once Cabinet grants its ‘no objection’ and the contract is awarded, a start up of the project can be either late October or early November, and about 10 per cent of the project could be completed by year-end.

Erskine, reiterating that the lights will only be placed in densely populated

sections along the highway, explained that the decision was based on budget constraints and operational cost.

He noted, though, consideration has been given to the less occupied sections of the roadway which will be defined by a new thermoplastic road-marking tape, which Erskine pointed out, is currently being used on the East Bank Highway.

And, according to him, the tape, which has a high degree of reflectivity and can be clearly viewed at nights, has already been proven as an effective road safety counter measure.

Noting that a personal survey shows some 50 per cent of motorists use the West Coast/East Bank Highway between 18:00h and midnight, Erskine is urging that all categories of road-users play their part in the observance of the five Cs of Road Safety – Care, Courtesy, Caution, Commonsense, and Consideration — and help to reduce accidents on the roadway.