The Sheriff Street/Mandela Avenue road project will not meet its October 31 deadline because of shipment delays, according to Minister of Public works Juan Edghill.
Edghill made the announcement yesterday during a site visit where he spoke with the contractors about the work that has been completed thus far. Edghill said that due to shipment issues, the project has to be extended to accommodate the wait. The minister along with the project contractors walked from the Sheriff Street and Railway Embankment junction to the road joining Mandela Avenue to the East Bank highway. Edghill told the media that the work observed is satisfactory and he hopes that the country will be comforted to know this. He also said that it is his hope that persons will have some patience as the project draws closer to its end.
According to the minister, the visit was to get a first-hand look at the project and assess the information the contractor has been relaying to his ministry since the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) had written to him asking for an update on the project. He said that following the visit, he will be reflecting on what is doable and practical. Among the observations made by the minister are the unfinished Lamaha Bridge, the shoulders of roads needing to be done, and pavements, street lighting, and road markings that are yet to be completed. He also had the contractors shed light on some of the decisions behind the road’s structure.
At the Lamaha Bridge, Edghill said the work was supposed to be completed on October 12, but the contractors encountered issues. The problem is that the canal provides water to the shelter belt for the Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI) to process for distribution to all of Georgetown. When the contractor started work at the bridge, the turbidity level of the water rose. The work had to be stopped and a silt trap was put in place to allow water to flow. The contractor informed that work is now expected to be completed within about ten days, making the new deadline the end of the month. With regard to the incomplete road markings, these cannot be done until the marking machine is delivered to the contractors. A team will be meeting shortly to address this situation and find solution to the delay.
The minister also noted that he has told the contractors to meet with other persons to try and tidy up the area while waiting for the final touches to be done. The installation of street lights is incomplete because of shipment delays. He said that once these lights arrive, the sub-contractor will be tasked with completing the installation. The contractor had explained that this will require about six weeks for completion. The pavements and marking of roads will be completed when the lights are installed and the lights will also be positioned along the median at selected sections.
Further, in the vicinity of the Arapaima Bridge, two lanes along Sheriff Street will transition into a four-lane road which should not present any traffic-flow issues since all the users have to do is follow the road markings. The four-lane transition will lead all the way to the Distributors Service Limited, on Mandela Avenue. Heading south, the road will have another transition after going over the Lamaha Bridge. The purpose of this transition is to alleviate the flow issues that are seen at the Homestretch Avenue junction. One of the contractors explained that the median in this area has a two way turning and it goes from a broad to narrow width or has a ‘belly’. The reason for this is as you approach the intersection there is a slip lane so there are two lanes and upon turning, it becomes three lanes. This slip lane serves to accommodate right turns without holding up traffic. There will also be a roundabout at the turn that is commonly referred to as the ‘Multilateral School turn’. The roundabout will connect Mandela Avenue to the new connecting road being built which leads to Eccles.
The Minister said that the area where the roundabout will be built is going to be left untouched until the contractors, who are meeting regularly, decide on when to start. He said the roundabout will facilitate a completely different project. The road it will be connecting to, he added, is a project under the Ministry of Housing and Water, while citing it as an example of the government’s attempts to build connectivity for the roadways. This project doesn’t have a deadline yet either.
The next transition will be at Mandela Avenue, leading all the way to the first cross Street in Alexander Village. According to the Public Works Minister, the road will then flow from a four lane road to a two lane road leading to Georgetown. The four lanes at Mandela will flow smoothly into the four lanes leading to the East Bank highway. He acknowledged that the new challenge with this section would be when the road will have to be closed for works to be done. “The moment you start working on this road, it’s a major traffic situation. So what we are seeking to do is to complete whatever has to be done on Sheriff/ Mandela and then use the curfew hours [to do the work].” He added that this will be done simultaneously with the installation of the street lights. However, the contractors do realise that in order for work to be done on a main road like this one, it will have to be done at a time when persons aren’t on the roads. They are hoping to use the curfew time, 10 pm to 4 am.
Edghill noted that as the project continues the ministry will also be assisting with some finer details. He mentioned that they will be overseeing that the bumps encountered when leaving the main road into smaller roads will be smoothened. He also advised the contractors to place a footstep to accommodate persons leaving Sheriff Street to enter Blygezeight in the vicinity of Distributers Services Limited on Sheriff Street. Both the minister and the contractors continuously reminded that the weather poses a huge influence on the progress of the project with the contractors assuring that work is being done at every chance good weather prevails. Finally, Edghill said that as updates concerning the shipment of lights and other items are made known to him he will be able to make public updates.
This newspaper reported that the project had drifted behind schedule last year and several sub-contractors had to be engaged in a bid to speed up the work and return to schedule. It was previously estimated that the project would take two years to complete. The project was handed over to Sinohydro early in 2018 after the contract was awarded and work commenced in the latter part of the year. The contract is pegged at US$31.03 million and is being financed by the Inter-American Development Bank.
