IN keeping with the government’s promise of innovative infrastructure, two of the country’s newest four lane highways – the Mandela Avenue, Georgetown highway and the Eccles, East Bank of Demerara (EBD) four lane highway – are expected to be connected by way of a roundabout at the “Multi-School” turn.

Minister of Public Works, Juan Edghill, made this disclosure during an assessment of the Sheriff/Mandela Road expansion project on Saturday. He said the roundabout requires joint collaboration between the contractors to ensure that the adequate infrastructure is put in place.

Work on the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) funded US$31 million, Sheriff/Mandela four lane highway began on August 2018 with the contract for the project being awarded to Sinohydro Corporation Limited in November 2017.

The Public Works Minister noted that this type of collaboration is necessary since works on the Sheriff/Mandela four lane highway begun several years before the conceptualisation of the $2.3 billion Eccles four lane highway.

“At the time when this contract [the Sheriff/Mandela expansion] was signed and conceptualised, that road [the Eccles four lane highway] was not coming there. So, the contractor that is building the Sheriff Mandela Road would have to cede some space to the contractor that is coming through. Currently, there is a joint collaboration in terms of the designing and the smooth layout and interconnectivity between the contractor that is building that four lane [the Eccles four lane highway] and the contractor that is building these four lanes [the Sheriff/Mandela expansion],” Minister Edghill explained.

Edghill disclosed that the government is already in possession of proposals and artists’ renditions of the roundabout, adding that the contract for the roundabout has already been awarded to Jr. Sammy Inc.

He noted that propriety work has already commenced on the roundabout but no estimated time for completion has yet been announced. Minister Edghill noted that some issues are expected to be “sorted out” this week.

“Sinohydro contractor cannot proceed with paving and bringing the median and all of that around because a roundabout is going here and there is need for some finalising up to where Sinohydro will cease work and where the contractor that is doing the roundabout will take over.”

The Eccles to Mandela concrete four-lane highway is expected to significantly reduce traffic congestion. The infrastructural project, which is slated for completion by December 2021, is being undertaken by the Ministry of Housing and Water.

Minister Edghill noted that these types of interconnected highways are not just to “check a box” for the government, but to ensure that all Guyanese have easier access to travel their country daily.

“We want to deliver that four lane which the people of Guyana are waiting on and we have to be able to deliver these four lanes which the people of Guyana are eagerly waiting on. So we’re going to have that connectivity and this is going to be an enhancement.

“Because what is going to happen, people who are going to the airport don’t need to continue down Mandela to DSL. Once they come off Sheriff here, they get the roundabout, straight to the Eccles four lane; that four lane should be able to take them to Diamond, getting past all the bridge traffic and everything else, so it’s easier on everyone,” the Public Works Minister noted.