THE collapse and replacement of a utility pole yesterday caused work on a significant portion of the East Bank Four-Lane Extension Project (between the Diamond intersection and the Diamond DSL Supermarket) to come to a standstill. 

According to contractor, BK International, the fallen pole belonged to the telephone company, Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company Limited (GT&T).
The company said their men were working on the carriageway when the pole collapsed, but thankfully, no one was injured. The incident however caused some telephone services on the East Bank to be disrupted.
It went on to say that “the telephone company, in February this year, had committed to the relocation of its aerial cables and associated fixtures to a new pole route, and to relocate buried cables in this area. However, when the pole fell today, it was revealed that the cables were still buried under the active construction area.”
It further quoted GT&T as saying in a Press Release dated May 22, 2014: “On February 28, 2014, GT&T and the Ministry entered into a contract to relocate aerial cables and associated fixtures to a new pole route and to relocate the buried cables (South of the DDL High Bridge).”
The release, BK International said, had further indicated that GT&T was scheduled “to commence works during the week of May 25th 2014.”
In closing, BK International called on the Ministry of Public Works “to push GT&T to keep their commitment to relocate the buried cables, and to reroute the aerial cables so that the road works can proceed to completion.”
It added: “Up to late this evening, GT&T workers were still rehanging the cables on the new pole planted in the centre of the new carriageway under construction.”