Contractors leave residents in road limbo

Residents of both Festival City and West Ruimveldt Front Road made reports about their road affliction. The Festival City main entrance is barricaded by an excavated road, the road was cut to allow proper drainage systems from a nearby trench. There were to be other infrastructure works. However, the road was left in that state for over a month. The depth of the drain is approximately six feet. Residents also stated that on the site debris is piled on the roadway, sand fills the drains and steel rods are left projecting outwards. People cannot access the road.

“For us to get into the community, we have to use another entrance, all the way around.”

There is a piece of wood that was placed across the drain for pedestrians to use but many fear falling into the drain at nights.

At the start of the project, residents believed contractors would finish the work in a short time.

While the West Ruimveldt Front Road was dug and filled with stones approximately a month ago, a road frequently used by minibus and other vehicles is now described as a roller coaster ride by residents. This road has huge pothole filled with water. Drivers who traverse this road on a daily basis complain about the damage these potholes cause to their vehicles.

Some minibus bus drivers refuse to use this road and divert to streets. These residents claimed that these nearby communities are filled with children who usually use certain pastures and circles to play.

These children are unaware of the minibuses using the streets may be hit especially at nights when most of these streets are extremely dark. Residents from both communities have since called on the Minister of Public Infrastructure to address why the contractors ceased working without completing the project.

The Ministry of Infrastructure in a statement reported that works were stalled as a result of the contractor’s inability to source materials for the completion of one aspect in the construction of the road. This stage, as explained by the Ministry’s Senior Engineer for Miscellaneous and Urban Roads, required crush and run, a material that is currently scarce in Guyana.

The Engineer posited that most of the rainwater has drained off of the road which will allow for the filling and smoothing of the road surface by weekend. This phase will be followed by the laying of crush and run in the new week and asphalt the following week; the Lamaha project.

In Festival City, Minister of Public Infrastructure David Patterson has given directives to the Traffic/ Safety/Maintenance Manager and his team to ensure that this project is completed before the end of 2019.

(Kaieteur News)