Barticians express frustration after recently upgraded road “washed away”

Simply traversing the main access road to their homes is wreaking havoc and making life uncomfortable for several Bartica residents who now have to concentrate on not breaking a limb or destroying their vehicles every time they use the trail.
The roadway leads into a “government compound” which is located at Seventh Avenue (between First Street and Third Street), below the Telecoms’ Hill.
The roadway has been in a terrible state for more than four years until recently, when it was upgraded prior to the Local Government

Elections (LGE) which was held on March 18.
Residents explained that the road was widened and a drain dug but it was not properly done.
“We asked them to redo the drain as that was supposed to help drain the water so it would not affect the roadway but they didn’t,” one woman related to Guyana Times.
While thankful for the upgrades, the residents did indicate that the work was substandard and it needed to be rectified before the rainy season started.
“Don’t get me wrong. We are grateful they did some work as we have been asking for better access for almost five years now and nothing was ever done. However even though we don’t expect paved roads and concrete drains, time and care should be taken to do a little better job so that situation does not get worse,” one resident noted.
Owing to the heavy downpours over the past few days, the entire road was washed away and now there are “alligator ponds” decorating the slushy trail.
“It is becoming impassable as each day goes by,” residents complained.
In a Facebook post, a resident noted that “it is difficult to walk in and out, and now even the cars and other vehicles that used to go right down to the back (of the street) no longer want to do so as the ruts are getting deeper each day.”
The post continued, “All that was needed was for the drain initially dug at the side to be done properly so that the water coming off the hill would not flow over and onto the road – 10 minutes of work. Instead, now it will take a day or two to repair this (if it gets done) plus a couple loads of sand…”
Notably, there are other roads across the region in similar conditions, which are now becoming impassable owing to the rainy season.
Residents are calling on the relevant authorities to address the situation with urgency.