By Leroy Smith
MINISTRY of Public infrastructure engineer Kester Hinds who is responsible for the approximately $US 44.3 million expansion and upgrade road works along the West Coast of Demerara, said despite some minor hiccups, works are progressing and are about 15 per cent complete.

The contract which is a Government of Guyana/Caribbean Development Bank funded one was signed off in 2014 by the previous administration and work commenced in January of this year.
The contract was awarded jointly to Surrey Paving and Aggregate Company Limited out of Jamaica and BK International from Guyana.
In an exclusive interview with the Guyana Chronicle, Mr Hinds explained that there were some initial startup problems with the contract which included the untimely delivery of materials on the worksite, dealing with encumbrances, identifying and relocating utilities and dust pollution which had begun to affect some residents.
All those issues have however been settled with the exception of identifying and relocating utilities which is an ongoing process and very time-consuming since its covers the resources of the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company, Guyana Power and Light and the Guyana Water Inc.

With respect to those companies there is complete provision in the existing contract to address them, but when it comes to the the Guyana Water Inc, the relocating of those resources could possibly see the contract cost spiking a bit.
Mr Hinds explained that there has been massive utilities relocation since the project started and already two lots of utilities have been replaced.
“As regards to GT&T infrastructure and the fibre-optic cables, we have divided those into separate lots. They are still part of the work, but in order to get those done we have been investigating where cables are located as well as where poles should be relocated to facilitate the widening,” Mr Hinds told the Guyana Chronicle.
In addition to the GWI and GPL utilities, there has also been the temporary removal of highway lights in order to facilitate the project.
The works which stretch between Vreed-en Hoop and Hydronie, saw contractors first working in the Hydronie area, which is just outside of Parika. He explained that this was due to the very low traffic in the area and less encumbrances to deal with.
Most of the works are now being carried out in the Anna Catherina area, where workers are constructing the concrete drains and over the last weekend there were some works done at another location, which saw the establishment of the pavements.

Pedal cycle facilities
In addition to the road expansion there is also provision for pedal cycle facilities and pavements for pedestrians but those would be featured at locations that are populated. That aspect of the work falls under a component that speaks to road safety and which is also catered for in the contract, according to Mr Hinds.
The project engineer explained that additionally, works have also been done in the area of accessing and clearing culverts to ascertain which ones need to be repaired. He said that since they have started that exercise they found approximately three culverts which would have to be completely replaced.
Over the last weekend the contractors also worked on having several metres of sidewalks constructed. He was not hesitant to speak on the issue of dust pollution, which residents along some sections of the West Coast Demerara have complained about.
According to Mr Hinds, immediate efforts have been made to address the situation.
He said now that the rains have come, that has assisted to some extent, but whenever the dry season returns, systems would have already been put in place to alleviate that issue. This was the assurance given to the ministry by the contractors.
On the issue of traffic congestion during the construction period, Mr Hinds said all the systems have been well worked out in keeping with international standards.
He stressed that when agencies, especially international donor agencies, put monies into a project they tend to ensure that the logistics for every single aspect of the project that facilities its smooth running are employed.
“We have a very proper and efficient traffic management system in place to ensure that there is limited disruption to the traffic flow and today I must say with this project we have not seen much challenges in terms of getting the work done, allowing the traffic to flow past the areas we are working and also liaising with the community,” the engineer told this publication.
The stipulation in the project also comes with a community-engagement component, which requires the ministry and the contractors to constantly engage the communities and that has been happening, Hinds assured.
He said that they have been in talks with the residents and that is how they were aware that dust pollution was a problem in some areas where the construction is ongoing.

A bit slow
Outside of the final six kilometres where works are to be done, the contractors are presently putting down concrete drains but reminded that the work in that area is not moving as fast as they hoped it would, given the utilities which are also being replaced.
Another problem which they have encountered in that stretch of the work is the presence of some encumbrances including fences and other obstacles.
Some are naturally on the government’s reserve, while others are rightfully placed, but because of the right away of the expansion those fences would have to be removed and that requires consultations with the owners of the properties.
Asked about a possible “Robeson Effect,” whereby those who are encroaching on the government’s reserve had those obstacles unceremoniously removed with bulldozers and other heavy machinery, Mr Hinds refused to comment.
He did however point out: “That is something that will pose some challenges and we are trying to resolve those. We have to communicate with some residents and let them know that they are encumbering and it is something that we have to be careful with and if fences are in the right away we have to see how we can relocate those and reconstruct them so those are issues that form another phase of the contract,” Mr Hinds carefully stated.
He stressed that in the new year there was the expectation that the works along the stretch would be accelerated as he pointed to the recent purchase of an asphalt plant by the company, which would be used to pave the road once the drains and other infrastructure are in place.
The engineer stated that the Ministry of Public Infrastructure is pleased with the performance of the contractors. Additionally, he said that the ministry has also found that the consultancy firm has been performing well and carrying out its mandate according to the guidelines of the ministry. There are two consultancy firms, one from Trinidad and one from Guyana.