EFFORTS have commenced to lay sections of the Sheriff/Mandela thoroughfare with asphalt, as the expansion project progresses into its final stages. Minister of Public Works, Juan Edghill, has confirmed that construction works have reached 68 per cent. This means that it is on course to achieving its December 2021 deadline.

At present, the project is at least two years behind schedule. In December 2017, the then Ministry of Public Infrastructure signed a contract with Sinohydro Corporation Limited for rehabilitation of the seven-kilometre stretch of road between Sheriff Street and Mandela Avenue. The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB)-funded project was estimated to cost USD$31,027,627.36. It was initially scheduled to commence in March 2017 and be completed within a 24-month period. Construction, however, began in August of that year.

The project later suffered a suspension, owing to health and safety violations committed by the contractor, Sinohydro. Following the protracted March 2020 General and Regional Elections, the funding agency was re-engaged by the new Irfaan Ali-led government, and works resumed with several sections of the road being worked on simultaneously.

Only recently, Minister within the Ministry of Public Works, Deodat Indar, hosted a consultation exercise with several companies who had concerns pertaining to completion of the previously delayed project.

Banks DIH Limited, Edward B Beharry and Co Limited, Citizens Bank and the Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI) were some of the companies consulted and the majority of issues raised were dealt with on the spot.

Once completed, the Sheriff/Mandela project is expected to benefit from improved road-safety infrastructure; better coordinated traffic movements, as well as adequate drainage along the road corridor and its surrounding communities.
The project, according to its outline, is also expected to extend the design life of the Sheriff/Mandela pavement and its interconnecting structures by at least 20 years. The project will boast a two-lane roadway with a concrete median to divide the two lanes along Sheriff Street. Meanwhile, Mandela Avenue will see expansion of the roadway from a two-lane road to a spanking four-lane thoroughfare, with a central concrete median and shared-use paths.
A roundabout is also set for the junction of Sheriff Street and David Street/Railway Embankment Road.

“The roundabout is starting up. So far, we’ve completed one of the bridges and the other one will commence soon,” the Public Works Minister noted. The Sheriff/Mandela project, according to its work plan, will be outfitted with the requisite road-safety amenities such sidewalks, bicycle lanes and adequate parking spaces. A pedestrian overpass is also on the cards for the vicinity of the East Ruimveldt and North Ruimveldt secondary schools.