The village of Aishalton is now virtually cut off from Lethem in Region Nine after torrential rains and a flash flood over the weekend destroyed a culvert and washed away sections of a bridge.
Michael Thomas, Aishalton’s Toshao, posted yesterday morning on his Facebook page that there is a need for emergency works along the main access road, approximately 12 miles from Aishalton.
“We are hoping to get an emergency team in to make a bypass so that traffic can continue but as of now it is a total cut off from Aishalton,” Region Nine Chairman Bryan Allicock told Stabroek News.
While there is an older road that persons can use, Allicock explained that there is no certainty about its condition and that it is also a much lengthier route, which persons are hesitant about using.
Allicock noted that they had started initial works on the road earlier in the year but its progress was stymied by the inclement weather.
“We were building bridges and so because we know about these kinds of emergencies happening. But we have the Minister of Natural Resources [Raphael Trotman] up here and we just had a meeting with them and they are looking at the possibility of getting help,” he added, while noting that they have a contractor and engineer on the ground assessing the situation.
Allicock noted that over the weekend there was heavy rainfall in Deep South Rupununi, which caused intense flash floods to wash away the bridges and culvert.
In order to prevent recurrences, Allicock explained that there is a need for concrete structures since the wooden ones are easily broken. “That is what we are embarking on. We can’t start now because of the rains. But the plan is that we do the concrete foundation and just put the top of the bridge as wood until we get more money,” he added.
