Guyanese now have the opportunity to make comments and have questions answered with regard to the impending Sheriff Street-Mandela Avenue Roadway design project with the open house viewings sessions being offered to the public.
The sessions, which began yesterday at the North Ruimveldt Multilateral School on Mandela Avenue, will provide citizens with the opportunity to view the roadway designs, make relevant comments and have questions answered.
According to Mark Greene, Design Engineer with the Ministry of Public Works, the design process began in March and saw the final design being finished last week Friday. Improvements will include drains, bicycle paths, traffic lights and medians to separate traffic and will run from the Rupert-Craig Highway to the Houston Bypass. A roundabout will also be included to allow smoother flow of traffic and fewer accidents.
Since the process began, the project has seen the consultation of stakeholders at least 20 times.
For design work, a sum of US$440,000 had been granted from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Greene said. An estimated cost for the construction work has not yet been determined. Pre-qualifications for contractors were tendered out and the process was closed last week. A contractor will be chosen by January 2014.
According to Greene, the contractor will have to have a traffic management plan that will allow for the redirection of traffic in cases of construction work. Updates on temporary traffic routes will be published in the media to inform drivers.
According to Greene, construction work will begin in June 2014 for a period of 30 months. The completed work, Greene said, will have an estimated life of 20-25 years.
When asked about how the road work will affect the many businesses on Sheriff Street, Vanda Radzik, Independent Stakeholder Specialist, remarked that the process is a trade-off and will benefit business owners in the long run.
The open house viewing will continue today from 17:00 hrs to 19:00 hrs at the North Ruimveldt Multilateral with an open forum tomorrow. All interested persons are invited to attend and will be allowed to voice their concerns and raise questions.
