Rehabilitation of the Linden to Mabura Road is expected to commence soon, Public Works Minister Juan Edghill said on Tuesday noting that a contract had already been awarded and was signed last week.
Edghill said he was aware of the poor state of the road and every effort is being put in place to have the contractor, RIM Construction Inc., commence work. Edghill was responding to a letter in Tuesday’s Stabroek News, in which three Lindeners, M. Lorimer, and W. Jeffrey, and S. Baynes questioned the delay in commencement of work.
“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,” they wrote. However, Edghill clarified that the tendering process commenced this year, and after evaluation, a contract was awarded and signed for the entire stretch of the Linden to Lethem Road. According to the authors of the letter, at present, it takes 7 hours from Linden to Mile 58, Mabura Road by truck, at the risk of significant vehicular … and tyre damage – as well as physical hardship to the driver – compared to 3 hours when the road is maintained. The journey works out to just over 8 miles per hour, and the hardships are even more severe in this season of increasing fuel prices, the authors noted.