Contractors reinforcing concrete utility poles along ECD

The contractor currently working on the East Coast Demerara (ECD) Railway Embankment project is in the process of adding reinforcement at the base of concrete utility poles to prevent them from collapsing similarly to what was experienced in South Ruimveldt, Georgetown last week.
The concrete utility poles were erected along the major carriageway just mere months ago. The poles are being used to replace wooden utility poles as the Guyana Power and Light (GPL); One Communications (formerly GTT), ENet and other providers relocate their lines to facilitate road expansion works across the country.
Employees of the China Railway First Group (CRFG) were observed working 24 hours to remove loam from around the poles which they replaced with stone and cement mixture.
This move comes one week after several concrete utility poles along Aubrey Barker Road, South Ruimveldt, Georgetown collapsed cutting off electricity supply to over 2,000 households for more than 24 hours.
Vice President Dr Bharrat Jagdeo at his last press conference threatened that contractors and Ministry staff, who fail to adhere to project guidelines will face severe penalties, including termination of contracts. The Vice President condemned the negligence plaguing several public projects, which he said continues to disrupt communities and waste public resources.
According to Jagdeo, the poles were not laid according to specifications but it was unclear whether that resulted from a design flaw or the faulty execution of the project.
Efforts to solicit a comment from the Minister within the Ministry of Public Works, Deodat Indar proved futile.
The scope of works for the US$192 million Railway Line expansion project includes the expansion of the Road to four lanes from Sheriff Street to Orange Nassau, the expansion of the existing ECD Road from Orange Nassau to Mahaica to four lanes and the rehabilitation of the two-lane ECD Road from Belfield to Orange Nassau.
Additionally, 22 culverts and 48 bridges, including another bridge across the Hope Canal at the Railway Embankment section, are being constructed.