Dear Editor,
About a year ago I drove into Mon Repos past the NARI location and witnessed a road under construction in that agricultural region. Less than a year later that new road is deteriorating. The question is, why is it breaking up already? There is little activity suggesting that heavy vehicles use this road a lot. The shoulders of the road seem alright. There has been a prolonged dry spell. Yet parts of this road have sunk and need urgent repairs before the rains come and make it worse or even impassable. There are signs of repairs that have been done to the road in question but the sunken parts and potholes are a threat to anyone who is speeding, especially at night. Where is the guarantee that the builders have given us? There seems to be a trend in Guyana where exorbitant sums of money are paid for substandard work, especially in the area of road construction and stellings.
Being a Guyanese who has been around for a very long time, I have seen quite a lot of road building, especially on the Corentyne, for example, in the Black Bush area. I have seen roads built and fees collected at tollgates. What goes on these days leaves much to be desired. New roads must be made to last a number of years. In some countries highways are made to go for twenty years.
Our roads must be properly built since we have sand and clay, neither of which forms an excellent base for roads. In some countries roads are formed by stripping away surface soil and using the rock foundation, but we are not so fortunate; we have mud and sand. So the government has to make road-building a top priority and look for credible builders. They may not be able to find the likes of MacAdam, but there are credible companies with qualified engineers who have planned and executed and delivered the goods before. Look at their track record.
Good planners will carefully test the soil under the roadway to make sure that it has the strength to carry the traffic that is intended to use the road. With modern testing equipment, engineers can carry out complicated tests. They can detect weaknesses that can shorten the life of the road. They will anticipate the type and number of vehicles that will use the completed road.
Our roads are failing because they are becoming waterlogged; there is no pavement that keeps the foundation from cracking or from developing potholes; they are not crowned for the water to run off; the compaction process is compromised and there is no proper sealing to prevent water from reaching the foundation; there is little maintenance once a road is built – water is allowed to seep under the road. And, as in all areas of construction, contractors only look at the money they will get, not the finished product. A road of that nature should last a minimum of ten years if properly done and maintained.
Yours faithfully,
Hilmon Henry
