Dear Editor,
It has now been more than one year since users of the Linden to Lethem Road have been suffering from rising trucking and vehicular maintenance costs due to the absence of the usual road maintenance. Users of this critical transportation corridor were optimistic when a road maintenance contract was finally awarded toward the end of last year, but we are now three months into the new year and significant works are yet to begin. Further, a new rainy season is upon us, which will only make our hardships more pronounced.
At present, it takes 7 hours to truck from Linden to Mile 58, Mabura Road, at the risk of significant vehicular breakages and tyre damage – as well as physical hardship to the driver – compared to 3 hours when the road is maintained. This works out to just over 8 miles per hour. These hardships are even more severe in this season of increasing fuel prices and makes it increasingly difficult to find truckers willing to work this route. While we anxiously await the upgrading of this road to a proper highway, we implore the Minister of Public Works and his team, to prioritise maintenance of this critical roadway in the interim, and to bring much needed relief to the users of this roadway.
Sincerely,
M. Lorimer,
W. Jeffrey,
S. Baynes
Wismar, Linden