– Sheriff/Mandela Road Expansion, East Coast to East Bank Bypass Road among list

By Lisa Hamilton

SEVERAL key road projects such as the Sheriff/Mandela Road Expansion, the Linden to Lethem Road and the East Coast to East Bank Bypass Road which have been stalled are now back on the agenda, less than two weeks after the new administration assumed office.

Public Works Minister, Juan Edghill, was pleased to give this report on Wednesday to the media. Addressing first the Sheriff/Mandela Road Expansion Project, he highlighted that it had been stalled for some time, not solely due to the pandemic but as a result of mismanagement. He said the observations of mismanagement were similar among the majority of projects the new administration was briefed on, since assuming office.

“Almost every project you go into, there are issues, there are problems, unresolved matters and while the project is being stalled, the road is deteriorating and there are issues,” he stressed.

To remedy these issues, Minister Edghill has requested that the supervisory consultant and contractors recommence the Sheriff/Mandela Road Expansion Project guided by a new work plan.

SHERIFF/MANDELA ROAD

In November 2019, the funding agency, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) had suspended the disbursement of funds for the ongoing 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.

Moving forward, Minister Edghill said the IDB has been engaged by the government on the environmental issues that caused the project to be stalled. He revealed that some of the money from the IDB loan was diverted to address housing issues in Guyana and other matters but what was allocated for the road was not being properly disbursed and the contract was not properly implemented.

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 was 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.

LINDEN TO LETHEM ROAD

Advancing into the hinterland Region, the Public Works Minister also highlighted the challenges with the Linden – Lethem Road and the Kurupukara Crossing.

He said that the former administration went multiple times to Parliament for financing to facilitate the development of the two infrastructures but all that became of that were designs.

However, the PPP/C Administration, since taking up office, has engaged the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) and others to come to a final decision on the use of the funds under the United Kingdom Caribbean Infrastructure Partnership Fund (UKCIF) for works to commence on the road. The Fund is being administered by the CDB.

“This road is a priority and we expect that the indecision and the lack of movement which obtained over the last several years will be resolved in a matter of weeks and we’ll be getting on with Linden to Lethem road,” Edghill said.

THE EAST COAST – EAST BANK BYPASS

Before the PPP/C left office in 2015, former President Donald Ramotar paid a visit to India on which occasion the possibility of funding for a bypass road from the East Coast to the East Bank was expressed. Minister Edghill said that five years have since passed and no such road has been constructed.

However, he said that President Irfaan Ali; Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeo, and the two Ministers of Public Works were a part of a team that met with India’s High Commissioner recently, and, “very shortly”, an announcement will be made on the final arrangements for this road.

“In less than10 days of an Irfaan Ali Administration, a matter that was lying for years, not resolved, is being resolved,” Minister Edghill said. Added to this, out of this line of credit, $18M was made available for the construction of a new ferry for Region One and this, too, was ignored. The new administration has arranged for this construction to commence within 18 months.

The minster of works did not hesitate to speak, too, on the East Coast of Demerara Road Widening and Improvement Project which the former administration had presented as completed. He said that while the APNU+AFC would have shared appealing pictures of the project celebrating its completion, it had not even reached “practical completion”. He surmised that this was done before its time merely as an election gimmick.

Edghill explained that the road is still to comply with contractual obligations such as signs and traffic lights which the ministry is now working to complete.

Apart from these major projects, he also noted that a plan for the development of interior roads and bridges is continuing even as the ministry has already engaged the engineers for urban, rural and hinterland roads and these upgrades will be catered for in the PPP/C’s 2020 budget.