Gov’t calls again for timely completion of Cemetery Road widening
-contractor upbraided for delays
On the instruction of President Irfaan Ali, Minister in the Ministry of Public Works Deodat Indar on Wednesday visited the Cemetery Road widening project site to ensure the project moves apace.
Following a walkthrough of the project, alongside the contractor and engineers from the Ministry of Public Works, significant gaps were discovered that led to delays in the works.
A release from the ministry said that GTT was flagged for its failure to splice its fibre cable in the project zone, which has led to a delay in the civil works on the concrete bridge at the head of Princes Street.
A number of tasks were identified by the Ministry of Public Works to be done on the project:
Princes Street to Sussex Street
-Completion of the southern bridge abutment to facilitate the diversion of traffic to the western lane that was recently completed.
-Removal of all reinforcement not in use from the work site.
-Completion of the medians and general cleaning of the work site.
-Commencement of the construction of the eastern lane from January 4, 2024. This includes a full-depth reconstruction of the shoulders.
-To facilitate the widening of the existing culverts at the Sussex Street intersection.
-Outlined various methodologies to enhance the speedy completion of this project.
Sussex Street Street:
to Middle
-Completion of the reinforced concrete block walls of the drain on the western lane.
-Completion of the road widening and curb wall on the western lane.
This is to prevent the ongoing displacement of the carriageway due to excavated areas being left open.
-Completion of the road widening of the eastern lane that was abandoned.
-Completion of the medians and general cleaning of the work site.
-Outlined various methodologies to enhance the speedy completion of this project.
Front Road/Street Mandela Avenue: to
-Completion of the reinforced concrete block walls of the drains for both eastern and western lanes.
-Structural backfilling to drain walls to prevent the road structure from moving under vehicular loads. This work must be done quickly to alleviate the
inconveniences caused by the contractor to the residents within the area.
-Outlined various methodologies to enhance the speedy completion of this project.
“The Ministry of Public Works assures the public that its engineers will continue to monitor the project and provide guidance to the contractor to address the identified gaps, and ensure the project is completed in a timely manner”, the release said.
Public Works Minister, Juan Edghill on December 29, 2023 stated his dissatisfaction with the
road works at Conversation Tree and at Cemetery Road, asserting that they should have been completed last year and not rolled over to 2024.
The minister informed reporters at a year-end press briefing that the respective contractors were given a revised timeline of January month-end to finalise the road projects.
For the Cemetery Road project, the revised timeline of end of January was granted to the contractor, after which Liquidated Damages will be applied.
“I will make myself clear. If
January month-end comes and this project is not completed the contractor will be removed from the project and we will hire a proper contractor to get the job done,” Edghill declared.
According to the Minister, “Cemetery Road is long overdue and slothfulness will not be tolerated as it is too much of a road to be moving at such pace.”
“We are not proud at all that this road was not completed for 2023”, he added.
The work is being done by Avinash Contracting.