100 roads for rehabilitation along EBD corridor – Min Edghill

– says construction of 3 major connecting bridges underway

Public Works Minister Bishop Juan Edghill on Tuesday visited a number of communities along the East Bank of Demerara (EBD) to inspect several completed, ongoing and earmarked road projects.
These projects are being implemented under the Public Works Ministry’s miscellaneous road programme.
“I’m interacting with the communities, seeing what is taking place so we will know directly the kind of intervention that needs to be made and the urgency of those interventions, but more importantly, I am getting the opportunity to see the beneficiaries so the impact of the investment can also be measured,” Edghill said.
During this inspection, the Minister visited Rahaman’s Park, Eccles, Mocha/Diamond, Garden of Eden, Barnwell in Mocha Arcadia and Coverden.

“Over a period of time, residents would have written [their road concerns] to the President, some would’ve written to the Vice President and some would’ve written directly to me. And then, we would’ve sent out our engineers to check and see what’s going on in these communities, the state of the roads – some that have been damaged because of developments that are taking place – and we’re getting ready to programme for about 100 roads on EBD,” Edghill said.
Minister Edghill noted that the Ministry’s massive work agenda for this year is already underway and every region of the country will be touched, with no one to be left out of the national infrastructural development plan.
Last year, the Ministry signed over $5 billion in contracts to construct roads and bridges in the hinterland and along the coastland.
For EBD, two bridges were projected to be constructed within the Diamond/Grove area to create an alternate route for commuters, with one bridge to link Grove and Jimbo Bridge Road and the other to link Grove and Craig.
During his East Bank visit on Tuesday, Minister Edghill noted that works on these bridges are progressing smoothly.  “The contracts that were signed for the Diamond/Grove are bridges for the upgrade of the road that will serve as a bypass to allow traffic to flow when work is going on the East Bank corridor,” Edghill said.
“This corridor is set for major upgrades. Those bridges and roads are underway. Some of them are under construction as we are creating a bypass so when you come through from Diamond, you will come out all the way to Busby Dam,” Edghill said.
Meanwhile, in May, a $117 million loan programme between the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Government of Guyana was launched to develop the 24 km of roadway encountered upon exiting the Cheddi Jagan International Airport.
This project aims to advance Guyana’s safe, efficient, and climate-resilient road and associated infrastructure and to improve road service quality and utility service along the East Bank corridor.
Minister Edghill further noted that the Ministry is at the procurement stage of this project and is in the process of engaging the contractor.  This road upgrade is a notable one given its connectivity to Guyana’s major airport, the Linden-Soesdyke Highway, and the future development of Silica City.
Meanwhile, work on the multimillion-dollar East Coast Demerara to East Bank Demerara bypass road continues to progress as the highly anticipated four-lane highway forms part of the Government’s plan to provide alternative routes to persons entering and leaving Georgetown.
On Saturday, the Public Works Minister carried out similar inspections along the East Coast Demerara (ECD) corridor.