RESIDENTS of Barabina Hill, North West District are breathing a sigh of relief after several days of hard work by a contractor has enabled the swampy roadway to now be accessed by vehicles.
The situation had cut the community off from the town of Mabaruma.

At the moment, the road is being tested for vehicles to traverse, and according to Community Development Officer (CDO) Leomie Willis, persons at the hill-top community view the project as a ‘Christmas gift.’

There are 484 residents living at Barabina Hill, which is considered a part of the town Mabaruma.

Works on the roadway commenced earlier this month and from the inception, the contractor was facing an uphill task.

The difficulty lies in the low-lying area where a major section of the road is swamped. Water from a nearby creek inundated the area for close to two decades, ultimately cutting-off vehicular access.
Reports are that when the contractor started working on the road two weeks ago, water from the creek backed-up and loads of loam were washed away overnight.

Nevertheless, the workmen persisted and they were able to re-align the road which had disappeared under the swamp.

On Tuesday, the truck transporting loam and other materials to the area was able to navigate the road and according to Willis, vehicles will now be able to transport residents to and from their home.

In April this year, Minister of State Joseph Harmon told reporters at a Cabinet press briefing that a sum of $59.9M was set aside for works to be undertaken on the roadway by the firm, International Imports and Supplies.

Under the previous administration, a move to replace a wooden bridge with a concrete structure at the Kumaka Junction was said to be the cause of the woes at Barabina.

At the time, water from the Barabina Creek flowed freely under the bridge and into the nearby Aruka River via connecting trenches. However, under the PPP administration, the move to build the concrete bridge with no conduit for the water to flow saw the water being backed-up and gradually swamped the lower section of the roadway near Barabina.

As such, the water eventually damaged the foundation of the roadway, and as far back as 2009, a few years after, the wooden bridge was replaced.

The residents were left to walk across footpaths built at the side of the area where the road once existed.

On Tuesday, Willis said the residents are thankful to the APNU+AFC administration as they are now able to transport goods and travel from Barabina Hill with much ease.