Following weeks of complaints about potholes on the Central Corentyne Highway and poor repairs, the authorities yesterday began patching sections of the thoroughfare.
Residents and road users in Region Six had been calling on the authorities to fix the potholes along the Corentyne Highway as they believed that if left unattended any longer the potholes could possibly result in fatal accidents as vehicles were being damaged.
Bushlot, Corentyne resident, Jay Mobeen in an interview with the Sunday Stabroek had called on the authorities to “fix it before somebody dies”. According to him he has made several attempts to contact officials from the ministry however they had all remained tightlipped on the matter.
The Sunday Stabroek was told that the Corentyne Highway like any other main access road falls under the Ministry of Public Works. A drive along the Corentyne Highway showed the failure of patchworks in Kildonan, Nurney, Bushlot, and other areas.
According to Mobeen, over three weeks ago, workers who claimed that they were contracted to fix the potholes visited the Bushlot, Corentyne Area, and dug out the asphalt from the road and placed it on the parapets.
Paint cans with PVC pipes were then placed in the potholes with no other signs to alert road users. According to road users the potholes started to widen.
Yesterday, a team was noticed working to fix the potholes in Bushlot and neighbouring areas.
Mobeen stated that these are all matters that need to be looked at, highlighting that only last Sunday evening a car suffered a flat tire and damage to its bumper and guards due to the pothole in Bushlot Village.
He said that the vehicle was heading from the Upper Corentyne Area and following the damage he had to offer assistance to ensure that the passengers were able to continue their journey.
According to Mobeen, in May the potholes were fixed with asphalt however the works have already eroded. Pointing to the substandard works, Mobeen said that it was a waste of money and should be looked at by those in charge.
“There are chunks of asphalt flying off when the sand trucks impact on the road, and houses are vibrating from sand trucks. They carry all of the excess weight. The chunks of asphalt would break off, and a lot of people lost their windshields”, he said.
In detailing his efforts to contact the authorities about the matter, Mobeen said that he has been given the “royal runaround.”
“You can’t get hold of anybody, everybody is tightlipped, nobody wants to divulge what is going on, residents remain in the dark, nobody is saying what is happening, when will it start, when will it finish”, he said.
Mobeen stressed that the works are important and must be done in a timely manner, “Somebody will get killed if this thing is not fixed, somebody will get killed and somebody will have blood on their hand… It’s about life and safety, not about convenience anymore”, he lamented.
