CABINET Secretary, Dr. Roger Luncheon said, yesterday, that, taken in the context of the climate change phenomenon, the current persistent and heavy rainfall triggered much of the recent damage on the Linden-Lethem road.
He said what the roadways were confronted with was not only one heavy downpour of rain.
“One has to always remember gradient and the impact of flooding with gradients,” Luncheon told his weekly post-Cabinet media briefing at the Office of the President complex.
“Those culverts (on the road) are ones with fixed specifications. The intention, when they are put in place, was to capture what would be the maximum carrying load,” Luncheon said, noting that, in the event of heavy rains which compromise the culverts’ diameter, the road is immediately put under stress.
“Water flows over the surface and, if the support for the culvert goes, the entire section of the road goes with it,” he explained.
Luncheon added that repairs to major sections of the Linden-Lethem road have been contracted out to Mekdeci Machinery and Construction (MMC).
He said the impact of the heavy rains was not contemplated and does not fall under the standard maintenance contract that MMC undertook.
Luncheon said the bauxite company RUSAL, while not in possession of a major contract, has been involved in rehabilitation works along the Ituni-Kwakwani corridor.
He said the Linden-Lethem, as well as the Ituni-Kwakwani thoroughfares, have been judged to be the most important, where interventions are concerned.
“Supplies, equipment and human resources have been rushed to that area to re-establish continuity,” Luncheon disclosed.
Along the route, at Mabura, there were breaches at 40 and 42 Miles but the first has been sealed and works are ongoing on the second, which are expected to be completed by tomorrow.
The repair entails installing pipe culverts with increased capacity, Minister of Transport and Hydraulics, Mr. Robeson Benn said.
He reported that, following heavy rains on July 11, a culvert at 42 Miles collapsed, rendering that section of the roadway impassable.
Benn also said erosion at 40 Miles created some difficulty for motorists but he said repairs are ongoing on the bridges in the corridor and tenders, for further interventions costing $100M, are being advertised.
He said expenditure for the same purpose amounted to $244.4M in 2009 and the allocation for 2010 is $300M.