Diamond-Good Success road to face traffic restrictions amid construction works

As rehabilitation and construction works continue along the Diamond–Good Success section of the East Bank Public Road, the Ministry of Public Works, in collaboration with the Guyana Police Force (GPF), will be enforcing traffic restrictions aimed at easing congestion along the corridor.

Currently the Government of Guyana is undertaking the US$75.8 million East Bank Demerara (EBD) Road improvement project. This initiative, aimed at supporting climate-resilient infrastructure development, marks the first of its kind to be funded by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) in Guyana.
Over the past several months, road rehabilitation and construction activities have commenced along the Diamond–Good Success stretch of the East Bank corridor. The project has so far involved extensive excavation works and deployment of heavy-duty machinery.
As a result, several sections of the roadway have been dug up, while equipment and construction materials occupy parts of the carriageway. These developments have contributed to noticeable traffic congestion in the area, particularly during peak hours, prompting frustration among commuters and concern from local authorities.

During a site visit to the project on Tuesday, Public Works Minister Juan Edghill announced that traffic restrictions would take effect starting today, as part of efforts to ease congestion. He explained that the initiative will be supported by a series of measures, including clearly marked diversion routes and the installation of traffic signs, all aimed at maintaining a smooth and orderly flow of traffic throughout the construction period.
“We have made all the necessary connections for people to go down to Heroes Highway, connect through Diamond and come through the bypasses so that you don’t have to be on this carriageway. What we are seeking to do now is to only allow for trucks and articulated vehicles carrying heavy load to remain on this carriageway, and all buses, cars, SUVs and the rest of it – the smaller vehicles – to start as of today going through the bypasses that have been created.”
Edghill added, “What we are proposing to do is only trucks, because with the work that is going on as – you can see, lanes would be interrupted. So, sometimes, you would not be able to get a full two lanes of traffic flowing north to south and south to north.”
The EBD Public Road sees more than 30,000 vehicles daily, with trucks making up between 20 to 30 per cent of that number.
Meanwhile also present at the site visit was Traffic Chief, Assistant Commissioner Mahendra Singh, who recommended that public transportation be permitted to use the route in order to avoid disrupting the livelihoods of residents in the surrounding area.
“So one of the things I would suggest, and not deviating from the orders of the Minister of Government at the time, is that public transportation should continue along this line. That is to say, the route 42 minibuses so that we don’t take away from where persons have to travel or inconvenience them to reroute back to their residences or places that they go to do business.”
In addition to trucks and public transportation, the Ministry of Public Works will collaborate with the Diamond/Grove Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC) to ensure that residents are not restricted from accessing their communities during the construction period.
Moreover, the Diamond–Good Success section of the road, which carries a hefty price tag of $1.3 billion, is currently 45 per cent complete.
Once finished, the 1.6-kilometre (km) stretch will feature widened lanes, increased capacity to accommodate heavier traffic volumes, and upgraded shoulders to allow for parking on both sides of the roadway.