The long-awaited $475 million Cemetery Road rehabilitation project which faced significant challenges will now be finished within the next 48 hours, the Department of Public Information (DPI) said yesterday.
During an inspection yesterday afternoon, Minister of Public Works, Juan Edghill said that 96 per cent of the works had been completed with two bridges left to be cured after being recently cast.
Currently, the bridge embankment closer to Princes Street is being cast and was expected to be done by last evening. However, it needs approximately two weeks of curing time. It will then be asphalted to ensure uniformity.
During that time, that section of the road will only accommodate light traffic.
Some sections of the road were widened by the use of a culvert design to approximately six feet.
Streetlights have since been installed along the road’s medium to improve security for residents.
“Within the next 48 hours, the site will be cleaned up and the machines and everything will be removed. But as it is right now, traffic is able to flow through Cemetery Road in a very efficient manner,” the minister said.
During a visit to the community of Rasville in July, the minister made a promise to have the road finished before schools reopen, however, that commitment has been fulfilled one month ahead of school reopening.
All the work that has been executed over the past two weeks was being done by sub-contractors who worked simultaneously to meet the deadline after a ‘Programme of Execution’ was agreed upon.
DPI said that these include Devcon Construction Inc. which did the culverts and is now finishing up with the pedestrian bridges and GDJ Logistics which transformed the site by removing the obstacles and completing the paving works that needed to be done.
Additionally, final works are still being done by Avinash Contracting Company which is the main contractor that was awarded the contract and which was unable to finish its tasks on time. It is unclear if any penalties have bee levied against the company..
Due to difficulties faced by this contracting company, the Ministry of Public Work’s Special Project Unit stepped in to render significant assistance to ensure that the project meets its final timeline.
