The Linden-Soesdyke Highway will see the expenditure of $150m for the rehabilitation of drainage infrastructure and the resurfacing of sections of the road.
Minister of Public Works Juan Edghill on Thursday told Stabroek News that rehabilitation is necessary as some sections of the road are deteriorating. The rehabilitation works are expected to commence by June of this year.
“We are rehabilitating sections of the road to make it useable, the 150M Guyana Dollars is just to carry out works on drainage of the road and resurfacing” of some sections, Edghill related.
According to Edghill, they are currently seeking funding for a full rehabilitation of the highway. He noted, too, that they have completed a feasibility study for the major rehabilitation.
The feasibility studies and designs for the Linden-Soesdyke Highway rehabilitation were completed by Beston SRKN’gineering Company, a consultancy firm contracted by the then Ministry of Public Infrastructure in January 2020, DPI reported.
The project lasted 10 months and at the completion, the firm submitted a design for the upgrading of the road.
An advertisement in Tuesday’s Stabroek News invited companies to submit tenders for the rehabilitation of the highway.
According to the advertisement, interested bidders can obtain information from the Ministry of Public Works, Coordinator of Works Service Group at the Fort Street, Kingston and purchase bidding documents.
Bids will be opened at the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board at the Ministry of Finance on Tuesday, April 6.
In 2017, bids were received and opened for rehabilitation of the highway. The works then were estimated at $43.1M.
Stabroek News last March reported drivers as saying that there is evidence of depressions at several points making it impossible for commuters to enjoy a smooth drive.
Some of the most affected areas are around the turns on the road and despite recapping, drivers told Stabroek News that the road is still uneven.
Excessive weight from vehicular traffic and the mining of sand close to the Linden-Soesdyke Highway are the main contributing factors to the soil erosion along the road, which has led to the speed limit being reduced from 100km/h to 80km/h, the drivers related.
The highway was constructed in 1969 and links the bauxite mining region to the capital. However, since its construction, no major rehabilitation work has been done.
