–but stakeholders assured of minimal disruption
HEAVY rainfall during the last week has placed a slight damper on ongoing preparatory works by three contractors executing extension works to the four-lane highway from Providence to Diamond, East Bank Demerara. Approximately three kilometres of roadway are involved in this project, being funded by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) in collaboration with the Government of Guyana at an approximate cost of US$17M. Works are to be executed in three phases, called Lots.
DIPCON Engineering 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.
Highway Engineer in the Works Ministry, Mr Ron Mohamed, in a recent status update of the project to the Government Information Agency (GINA), said DIPCON Engineering had commenced excavation and back-filling of the ditch area, to accommodate the wind change, which would be used for settlement control.
General Earth Movers, in association with GIACO Construction, have already completed laying out a bypass road in the adjacent canefield area, and are soon to commence excavation; while BK International has commenced excavation at Diamond – a rapidly developing commercial area.
Meanwhile, residents and other stakeholders are being assured of minimal disruption during the construction period.
Last Monday, the Multi–Stakeholder Committee which has been established for the project convened a meeting to update stakeholders on the status of the project, as well as to discuss pertinent issues and concerns of representatives on the committee. At that meeting, Project Community Liaison Officer, Bernice Obasi assured stakeholders that her office would address with the relevant authorities all concerns regarding the possible negative impact of the project on stakeholders and residents during the construction phase. To this end, she urged that members report all such concerns to her office, so those can be properly ventilated and addressed. Obasi reminded her audience that the project obligates the contractors to hold meetings with the community for the duration of construction, considering the importance of community engagement and the environmental aspect of the project.
Remarking that “people must be at the heart of engagement or we will fail,” Obasi, however, lamented the poor turnout of residents at the first community meeting held by the contractor.
Meanwhile, Komal Singh, contractor of GAICO Construction, is encouraging stakeholders to voice their concerns to officials at the company’s office.
“You must feel free to come to us and lay all your concerns,” he urged.
Regarding concerns about disrupting bridges and other utilities, Singh gave the assurance that, as the project progresses, he would be meeting with residents  to apprise them of upcoming disruptions, and the extent and plan of action the contractors have to assist in mitigating those disruptions.
DIPCON Construction Manager, Latchman Bhagwandass, also gave the assurance that his company would not set any dangerous precedent, but would work in cohesion with the utility companies, including GT&T and GPL, during the construction phase, in an effort to reduce the chances of negative incidents occurring.
Project consultant in the Works Ministry, Rabindranauth Chandarpal, responding to concerns about poor lighting, visibility, and congestion at the project site, explained that because of the heavy traffic which traverses the project thoroughfare on a daily basis, during the design phase of the project, special emphasis had been placed on managing the traffic in its execution phase, so that, during construction, two lanes for traffic will be maintained.
Contractors of the respective lots will each be making an interim two-lane bypass, to divert traffic from the actual construction area. They have begun converting some sections of the existing GuySuCo canefields on the east of the roadway into two-lane bypasses. This will aid in optimally minimising traffic build-up and congestion.
The ongoing construction to facilitate a four–lane roadway will result in some trenches alongside the existing roadway being narrowed. When completed, the road 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 along the East Bank highway.