THE three contractors who will be executing the expansion works on the East Bank Demerara four-lane highway have each been issued with the relative commencement order, Chief Transport Planning Officer  in the Public Works Ministry, Mr  Rabindranauth Chandarpal, confirmed on Monday.
And following this new development, the contractors –
Dipcon Engineering Services, BK International and Gaico Construction – in association with General Earth Movers of Trinidad and Tobago, have begun some aspects of the preliminary works, which include mobilization of workers and equipment, surveying of the contract area, and identifying suitable sites to stockpile materials.
The construction works are being done in three phases, called lots. Dipcon will undertake the first lot: from New Providence to Prospect in the vicinity of the Guyana Water Inc; Gaico Construction, in association with General Earth Movers, will be doing Lot 2: from Prospect to Diamond, near the Demerara Distillers Limited (DDL) plant; and BK International will do lot 3: from the DDL plant to the Diamond/Grove intersection.
All three contractors have 18 months to complete the project, the overall cost of which is US$22M. Funding is by means of a US$20M loan from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), with the Government of Guyana contributing the remaining US$2M.
The East Bank Demerara highway is the only thoroughfare linking East Bank Demerara villages to the city of Georgetown, and is the route used to bring travellers from the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, Timehri, into the city. Because of the heavy traffic which traverses that thoroughfare on a daily basis, specific emphasis has been placed on the management of traffic during the execution of the project.
To this end, contractors of the respective lots will each be making an interim two-lane bypass to divert traffic from the actual construction area.
This would see some sections of the existing GuySuCo canefields on the east of the roadway being converted into two-lane bypasses.
In addition, the width of some trenches alongside the existing roadway will be reduced to accommodate widening of the existing roadway, which, when completed, will consist of parks for vehicles, lanes for bicycles, pedestrian crossings and bus stops, in addition to having new bridges and culverts in an effort to increase safety and significantly reduce disruption of the traffic flow.