Dear Editor,
I refer to your report on the erosion of the embankment near the Rupert Craig highway. This embankment is part of the sea defences and not part of the highway.
This portion of the concrete sea defence walls designed by the undersigned stretching from the old d’Aguiar Bend to near UG was constructed by Wimpey, a UK company, in 1968 under a UK Loan Agreement. The Hydraulics Division built the embankment earlier.
Wimpey lost so much money on this contract that the manager vowed to me that they would never return to Guyana to build any more concrete sea defences. They never did return. The Roads Division built the roadway in the 1970s and it was later renamed the Rupert Craig Highway.
The earth embankment behind the RC Coping is an integral part of the design mechanism built to resist the horizontal thrust from uprush and overtopping from high tides. The present erosion and settlement from foot and cart traffic including poor maintenance over the years has weakened its ability to do so.
Regrassing the affected areas will not suffice. I feel a complete redesign may be warranted.
Recently, it was reported by the UN in the Guyana press that sea levels in Guyana have risen by a dramatic1.7 feet since the last time levels were taken in the early 1960s and if this is correct Guyana is in for some torrid times ahead on the sea defences since I did not allow for such an increase in the original design. I am not too sure if the present rip-rap construction has been designed for this increase. Judging from the slips and settlement noticeable shortly after construction, I doubt it very much.
The new design for the top of the embankment should take into account this new increase in sea levels. Sometime ago I had written about this large gathering of people and hucksters on Sundays on the sea defence embankment including the building of the Kitty Resort directly on top of the existing concrete sea wall in violation of the Sea Defence Act, all to no avail. The Sea Defence Board in my opinion appears to be impotent and should be abolished.
Yours faithfully,
Malcolm Alli
