By Lisa Hamilton

THE Sheriff/Mandela Road Project is in full swing with contractors working under strict COVID-19 guidelines to get the job done. On Thursday, the Guyana Chronicle visited some of the construction sites along the roadway and engaged Site Engineer, Nirmala Robindra.

At the time, she was standing on the Arapaima Bridge, not far from the East La Penitence Post Office on Mandela Avenue, monitoring the construction of a bypass bridge. The bypass bridge, she said, would be in place for about six and a half months to cater for the construction of a new bridge at the location, in keeping with the project plan.

As Robindra explained what was taking place, a dragline excavator moved large timber piles which were driven into the thick mud of the ‘creek’ for the construction of a revetment as a means to stop the flow of the water. Sand, crusher run and loom would then be put to stabilise the roadway.

She said the new bridge would have pre-cast concrete decking, pre-cast concrete piles and would be overlaid with asphalt. The works at the bridge are being conducted by Kares Engineering Inc.

Not far from the bridge was a small wooden station set up as the COVID-19 check point. Signs placed on the station alerted workers that the site is operating under COVID-19 protocols. It prohibits entry of persons who feel ill; urges workers to maintain two meters from others while on site; requests that they wash their hands regularly and thoroughly; reminds them to cough or sneeze into their elbows and to avoid touching their faces.

The site includes a handwashing area with a sink and hand sanitisers; a temperature check station; an isolation zone secluded with plastic; a kit of COVID-19 epidemic prevention supplies and clean drinking water.

“Every morning they [the workers] come in, they have to test their temperature, they have to wash their hands, we take note of their temperature and, after lunch, they do the same. If anybody is above the normal temperature we put them in the isolation area and then you would have to call the relevant authorities,” Robindra said.

The workers are also quizzed on whether they might have been in contact with a person displaying symptoms of the virus or whether they were experiencing any symptoms.

Further up Mandela Avenue, just opposite the East Ruimveldt Secondary School, construction workers were widening the road with the help of a hymac excavator. The equipment dug up a foot or two of the compact soil near the roadside while men nearby shovelled sand in place. This part of the project was being conducted by BK Construction.

WORK ONGOING
In the opposite direction, at the intersection of Garnett and Sheriff Streets, more road widening works were ongoing. Workers were seen constructing new pavements similar to the ones constructed along Mandela Avenue.

Not far from that construction site was a tent set up as another COVID-19 check point. The woman in charge of ensuring that workers were adhering to the guidelines in place, Sabitri Dhanwak, said that the COVID-19 epidemic prevention supplies kit had everything to detect possibilities of the virus and to keep workers safe.

Opening the kit, she said that there were COVID suits, face masks, thermometers, hand sanitisers, liquid soap, paper towels and more. The tent, similar to the one at the Mandela checkpoint, possessed a sink with water available for workers to wash their hands.

At a press conference on August 19, 2019, Minister of Works, Juan Edghill stated that several key road projects previously stalled, such as the Sheriff/Mandela Road Expansion, would be back on the agenda.

The soon-to-be-operationalised fully-automated asphalt plant which has the capacity to produce 160 tonnes per hour will help to further advance the project.

In November 2019, the funding agency, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) had suspended the disbursement of funds for the US$31 million project owing to health and safety violations by the contractor, Sinohydro Corporation Limited. The road expansion contract is subject to performance audits by the IDB.

Since then, Minister Edghill said the IDB has been re-engaged by the government on the environmental issues that caused the project to be stalled. The IDB-funded Sheriff Street/Mandela Avenue Road Expansion Project was contracted to the company in December 2017 but work commenced in August 2018, following surveying work.

The project is intended to improve road safety; simplify traffic movements; provide adequate drainage for the road corridor and interdependent communities; and extend the design life of the pavement and all roadway structures to a minimum of 20 years from the expected end of construction.

This stretch of road will see the construction of a two-lane roadway with a concrete median portioning the two lanes along Sheriff Street while Mandela Avenue will involve expansion of the roadway from a two-lane road to a four-lane road, with a central concrete median and shared-use paths.

A roundabout will be constructed at the junction of Sheriff Street and David Street/Railway Embankment Road, while the completed roadway will also be outfitted with the requisite road safety amenities, including sidewalks, bicycle lanes and adequate parking spaces.

Bridges will also be upgraded, while in the vicinity of East Ruimveldt and North Ruimveldt secondary schools there will be a pedestrian overpass.