Sheriff/Mandela road to be paved, asphalted before yearend
Works being done on the Sheriff/Mandela road upgrade on Wednesday (Adrian Narine)
Works being done on the Sheriff/Mandela road upgrade on Wednesday (Adrian Narine)

– Min. Edghill

THE Sheriff/Mandela Road upgrade is set to be paved and asphalted before the end of the year as works have recommenced along with sub-contractors that will be building the bridges.

This is according to Public Works Minister, Juan Edghill, during the Committee of Supply considerations of expenditures for the Public Infrastructure Ministry from January to September 2020.

It was revealed that $2.7 billion of the total amount has already been spent on the project. An additional $553 million was allocated in this year’s budget to complete the project.

Minister Edghill said COVID-19 will not be used as an excuse for non-delivery of services to Guyanese.
In November 2019, the funding agency, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) had suspended the disbursement of funds for the 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.
“This road should have already been delivered and those who drove on it today know it is still not yet delivered,” he said, adding: “When we took office there was no work being done on the road and it was not only because of COVID-19, the other reason is non-compliance with environmental standards and the IDB had to shut disbursements down on the project that was badly mismanaged.”

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.
The road upgrade project is being funded through a US$66 million loan from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).

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