THE Ministry of Public Works (MPW) in 2014 allocated and spent $604M to maintain 359 kilometres of roads in Regions 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and later declaring all public roads.

Some of the roads which were rehabilitated/developed included; Vlissengen Road, Irving Street, Mandela Avenue, Duncan Street, the Soesdyke/Linden Highway, Homestretch Avenue, the University of Guyana access road, Irving Street, Water Street, Carifesta Avenue,the Sea Wall Road,the Railway Embankment; Camp Road, Barrack Street, West Coast Demerara, East Coast Demerara and East Bank Demerara roads.
Details of works that were performed on roads were as follows: Minor rehabilitation of local failure; pothole patching; crack fill longitudinal/transverse/edge cracks; levelling and applying thin overlay to rutting; minor rehabilitation of local failure; surface seal block cracking; road safety maintenance (road marking and signs); cleaning or clearing of existing drains; grading and shaping of road shoulders; and revetment installation.
The MPW also stated that due to routine maintenance by the Force Account Unit (FAU) on all declared public roads, travelling time on the roads has been reduced; road markings will help to make the roads safer; there will be a reduction of vehicle operation cost; an extension of the service life of the road and increased driving comfort.
Meanwhile, the main thoroughfare for Section Q Turkeyen is currently being upgraded by the FAU, and is expected to be completed this week, barring inclement weather. Work on the 3,280- foot long road commenced on December 12, 2014 by the FAU.
According to Lawrence Mentis, head of FAU and a Civil Engineer, works completed so far include cleaning the roads, drains, culverts and the reconstruction of its pavement from white sand/ clay to finished asphalt concrete.
Moreover, works to be completed include the installation of culverts, priming and tacking coat of road and the laying of asphalt concrete.
He concluded by saying: “This is the only road leading into the housing scheme, so we have to maintain it to a certain level of acceptability for the residents,” Mr. Mentis stated.