DEVELOPMENT is not always a straight road, there are hurdles along the way that could only be crossed with precision and a careful approach.
A realistic example of this is the government’s approach to the traffic situation along the East Bank of Demerara (EBD) that is being addressed through the construction of a network of roads from Eccles to Diamond, with plans to extend it to Timehri, which is further up the EBD, and works already underway to extend the road from Ogle on the East Coast of Demerara (ECD) to Eccles.
Beyond traffic alleviation, such massive investments address another critical area of development, adequate housing solutions. Serving as arteries to development, those roads have turned and will turn backlands into prime lands, which are being used to meet the housing and commercial needs of the evolving Guyanese population.
The People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C), upon its election to office in August 2020, inherited a long list of eager applicants who were interested in securing housing for themselves and, in most cases, their families as well. With careful planning, the government has been able to start the process of effectively addressing this backlog by allocating over 20,500 house lots in just two years.
There are plans to continue this process by allocating another 10,000+ house lots and installing the requisite supportive infrastructure by the end of this year.
Not only would this effort be supported by the EBD road networks, but also the new Schoonord to Crane four-lane highway, for which funds have been included in this year’s budget.
This project would also serve multiple purposes, as one of the primary goals is to utilise this infrastructure to address the issue of traffic congestion along the West Bank and West Coast of Demerara.
In due time, the icing on the cake regarding the alleviation of traffic along the EBD to “West side,” the new Demerara River Bridge, will soon be built.
In fact, a supervisory firm, which is expected to oversee construction of the new Demerara River Bridge, is in place and has paved the way for the project to get underway soon.
During the examination of the budget estimates for the Public Works Ministry, subject minister, Juan Edghill, was asked about the budgeted cost of some $5.163 billion for capital works related to the bridge and whether this budgeted sum caters for land acquisition among other things.
Edghill related that the contract for construction of this new bridge was signed in May of last year and as such, the firm which was later awarded the contract to supervise the works was recently received in the country.
“That supervisory firm took effect from January 15, 2023, and they are in their mobilisation stage,” he said, adding that he was able to meet with them on Friday last.
On May 25, 2022, a US$260 million contract was signed for construction of the new Demerara River Bridge.
A joint venture of Chinese companies, led by China Railway Construction Corporation is expected to undertake the project.
The new bridge is expected to be some 2.65 kilometres with two carriageways and four lanes. It is a hybrid design with the high span having a cable-stay design, even as the vertical height of the bridge is to be constructed at 50 metres from the mean highest watermark.
This new bridge is said to have a design lifespan of 100 years and will take the place of the existing bridge, which has been in operation for more than 40 years, passing its projected lifespan.
Upon completion, the bridge will indeed serve as an important link between Regions Four and Three, and supplement the slew of investments in critical infrastructure that would ultimately transform the landscape of Guyana.
