Preparatory works on East Bank, East Coast four-lane road expansions on target

As efforts continue apace on the further development of the country’s physical infrastructure, the preparatory works for the East Coast four-lane highway from Better Hope to Montrose and from Montrose to Golden Grove under phase one of the project are moving apace.

Public Works Ministry Chief Roads Engineer, Leon Goring told the Government Information Agency (GINA) that, “On the East Coast four-lane highway, we are developing the reserve in such a manner that the concrete drains totalling 11,000 to 12,000 feet, will be constructed on both sides of the public road… we are doing sand-filling between the inside edge of the concrete drain and the roadway.”

The scope of works includes the relocation of utilities, Goring said. Engineer in charge of the East Coast expansion, Kelvin Clarke, said most of the sand filling to the unconstructed areas in lot one (Better Hope-Montrose) would have been completed as some relocation of the utilities in that construction area was undertaken.

He further added that due to the inclement weather being experienced, there are some delays, nevertheless, the contractor is pushing ahead to complete the project in a timely manner. “In lot two of the project (La Bonne Intention – Golden Grove), the contractor has started with initial excavation works being executed outside of the Life Springs Cathedral in LBI,” Clarke said.

The engineer said the alternate drainage to the areas under construction in both phases has been provided.

Commenting on the East Bank four-lane expansion, Goring said that the work between Diamond and Providence has been divided into three sections to facilitate the participation of local contractors.

The Guyana government secured the sum of US$ 900,000 to prepare the design for the East Coast four-lane road by the Kuwaiti government last year, whilst Gy$ 22 million will be expended for the extension of the East Bank four-lane highway.

Head of the Presidential Secretariat Dr Roger Luncheon had said that government’s investment in the expansion of the corridor will significantly reduce the traffic build-up along the thoroughfare. For 2011, government budgeted Gy$ 10.1 billion for the maintenance, rehabilitation and construction of roads and bridges countrywide, whilst in 2010, Gy$ 7.9 billion was expended to improve the country’s bridges and roads network of which Gy$ 5.9 billion was spent on the latter.

The construction of a four-lane road on East Bank Demerara from Houston to Providence has significantly improved the traffic flow on the East Bank, West Bank and West Coast of Demerara as it has minimised the traffic congestion of commuters traversing the roadways, especially at peak hours.

However, with the advent of the Diamond Grove Housing scheme where thousands of people are now residing, having received house lots from government, the East Bank corridor from the scheme’s entrance has become congested at peak periods.