Minister of Public Infrastructure, David Patterson, has said he is disappointed at the slow pace at which the US$31M Sheriff Street/Mandela Avenue Expansion Project is being executed.

Since the signing of the multimillion dollar project in 2017, not much has been done Minister Patterson told reporters on Wednesday at the Centre for Change.
The contract for the Sheriff/Mandela Avenue road project was awarded to Sino Hydro Corporation Limited in November and signed in December 2017, with funding from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).

The Public Infrastructure Minister noted that the contractor and all other parties involved in the project have been written to on the matter. He remains hopeful that the pace of the project can be accelerated soon.

Work Services Group (WSG) Coordinator, Ministry of Public Infrastructure, Geoffrey Vaughn, explained that these measures will set the pace for the infrastructural works which are expected to commence before the end of the first quarter of this year.

Under the multi-million dollar project, the existing carriageway will be upgraded and resurfaced from the northern end of Sheriff Street through to Homestretch Avenue. From that point to the Mandela Avenue-Hunter Street junction, there will be four lanes of traffic. The completed roadway will also be outfitted with the requisite road safety amenities, including sidewalks, bicycle lanes and “hopefully” adequate parking spaces. Bridges will also be upgraded. In the vicinity of East Ruimveldt and North Ruimveldt Secondary Schools, there will be a pedestrian overpass.