Residents of East Bank Berbice are upset over the condition of the Mara road and a bridge at Heathburn.
According to Maxwell Semple, Chairman of the East Bank Berbice Hire Car Association, he and regional officials held many discussions concerning the condition of the main highway from New Amsterdam to Mara. Semple told Stabroek News that the region promised that substantial work will be done on the road and the nature of the work to be done was also discussed. According to Semple when the contractor came days later to do the work the contract “had some totally different things from what was discussed in the meeting.”
Just over a week later the road is even worse than it was previously, Semple said. There were big holes in some parts of the road that were repaired. Semple contends that if the road was done as was planned this would not have happened. He also told Stabroek News that several times per year the road is being patched and this, he said, “is a waste of taxpayers’ money. Do one good job and you ain’t got to do the road again.” The residents feel that this is a slap in their face as every time they are being promised something good and are always “given sub-standard work”.
The contractor, they said, did one part of the road and left another part saying that “when GWI fix the pipe they gon come back and complete the job”. As it is residents are contemplating a protest.
One concerned resident Jacklyn Jackson, said that “the road just keep deteriorating all the time and nobody is paying attention to it.” She told Stabroek News that her house is always covered in dust. This, she said, was shown to the regional officials one time and they did “apologize, but didn’t do anything about it”.
Stabroek News’ attention was next drawn to the bridge between Heathburn and Edinburgh. The top of the bridge was repaired some nine days ago. But according to the residents because of the suspect foundation under the bridge, with every passing heavy-duty vehicle, the bridge sinks deeper and deeper. They complained that the regional authorities were told about this before work commenced on the bridge, but their advice was not heeded.
According to Mohammed Ali, a resident of Heathburn, he had requested the regional administration to have a first-hand look at the bridge and road, and a team was subsequently sent there. Residents at that time told the persons about the big trucks traversing the bridge and damaging it. These trucks, they say, are carrying weight above the capacity of the bridge and contributing to its deplorable state.
