EBD road expansion: “I am not going to tolerate it any more” – Pres Ali raps contractors, consultants over traffic woes

– Police control room to be set up, EWS implemented

President Dr Irfaan Ali on Sunday read the riot act to the contractor, consultants and the local technical team working on the rehabilitation and expansion of the East Bank Demerara (EBD) Public Road, as well as the Guyana Police Force (GPF) over the miles-long traffic buildup on Saturday. As a result of ongoing construction works, sections of the two-lane road at Soesdyke, in the vicinity of St Mary’s, was closed off, resulting in only one lane of traffic being allowed to move at a time – causing major chaos along the upper East Bank corridor. During a meeting with the contractor, China Road & Bridge Corporation (CRBC); consultant, Sheladia Associates Inc; engineers from the Public Works Ministry and the GPF’s Traffic Department along with other stakeholders, President Ali, accompanied by Cabinet Ministers, upbraided the contractor and consultant on the pace of the project as well as the manner in which traffic arrangements are being followed. He cautioned them about the seriousness of the situation, the implications of delays, and what is expect of them moving forward in the timely execution of the project.

“It is clear to me that enough effort is not placed on traffic management and the workflow plan. And as a result, you are causing tremendous hardship on the people who are using this road, and I am not going to tolerate it any more… This is the last time I intend to speak to the contractor and consultant, because the consultant is equally to be blamed, as well as the site engineer from Public Works,” he contended. This is not the first time the Guyanese leader has had to meet with these stakeholders on the comprehensive management of this road project including the workflow plan. In fact, he had previously told the contractor to avoid closing off several sections of the EBD road simultaneously especially since this is a main thoroughfare that leads to the country’s hinterland regions and the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) – Guyana’s main port of entry. At Sunday’s mid-afternoon engagement, the Head of State ordered that a system be put in place that will reduce, as far as possible, the difficulties to the commuters.
“We know there will be disruption, because it is the only carriageway. But you are contributing to the difficulties that we are having… We are not going to accept the type of contract management that we have seen in the last four days,” he declared.
Revised work plan & consequences
To this end, the contractor and consultant were instructed to submit a revised work plan within 24 hours. According to President Ali, “There must be a clearly defined workflow plan and management that all the agencies are aware of. There is a serious problem with the workflow plan… I understand the difficulty in building out on this one corridor, but there are ways in which we can mitigate some of the challenges. Concentrate on completing sections so that you don’t have 10 and 12 sections that are creating the bottlenecks in the traffic management.”
The Head of State further went on to order the contractor to have more work done in the nights as well as increase the manpower on site to accelerate the pace of the construction. In fact, he cautioned that there could be consequences if they failed to do this. “For this project to be completed and for less disruption to the commuters, you have to put the people in during the night, increase your machinery, increase your workforce. I said this more than one time. I hope that you will take the necessary corrective action to ensure that we don’t have reoccurrence… [Otherwise] liquidated damages will be applied across the board, consultant, contractors, and everybody.”

“We will put a system in place to avoid what took place two days ago. And if the contractor can’t get it right, I’m going to ask the AG (Attorney General, Anil Nandlall) to examine the terms of contract and have you dealt with… I want to make it very clear. It is absolutely clear that you have to put more machinery and more human capital to accelerate this work,” the President stressed. As a result of the ongoing roadworks at Soesdyke on Saturday, there were miles of traffic buildup along the EBD road. Despite efforts by the GPF’s Traffic Department to manage the orderly flow of vehicles, some motorists were overtaking and creating several lanes of traffic, which worsened the situation. In fact, several social media posts with photos and videos shared by frustrated members of the public captured outgoing passengers walking with their luggage from as far as Land of Canaan along the East Bank corridor in a bid to reach the CJIA on time for their flights. Several persons even missed their flights. Moreover, some airlines were forced to reschedule their departure times after their crews were also stuck in the traffic.
Traffic management interventions
In a traffic advisory on Sunday morning, the Police Force indicated that the road works are still ongoing along the East Bank corridor between Supply and Soesdyke.
As such, the GPF stated that “…outgoing passengers via the CJIA are advised to factor delays into their planning to get to the airport on time for check-in. Motorists are reminded that their actions must not lead to obstruction or delays; practice the 5 Cs of defensive driving and support safe progression of traffic. Report errant drivers who are not compliant, do not follow them.” However, during Sunday’s meeting, President Ali called for stricter measures to be implemented as he highlighted to the police the blatant disregard for traffic rules and road safety, particularly by trucks. On this note, a number of measures were agreed upon, including the establishment of an integrated control room and the implementation of a traffic management drone system. “All the trucks [and other vehicles] that are breaking the rules, forming three lanes and four lanes, you have to charge the drivers… The role of the police is to support the smooth flow, to support the safety measures, and we have to deploy our technology to help with this. Move the control room closer to the corridor [and have] 24/7 monitor by drones. Identify those who are breaching the traffic laws and those who are contributing to safety risks, and let the law take its course,” President Ali declared.
In addition, an Early Warning System (EWS) and an emergency transport plan, in collaboration with the Guyana Defence Force’s (GDF) Coast Guard and the Marine Section of the Police Force, will be set up also to help manage traffic and the workflow, as well as assist persons heading to the CJIA in cases of unforeseen circumstances, henceforth. “We have different docking areas going all the way to Timehri. So, we must have an Early Warning System, especially for persons going to the airport. If there is an unforeseen circumstance, that system must kick in. The Coast Guard must kick in. The boats will be in place. We have the boats so we can help people to get to the airport during this phase of construction.”
“[But] the contractor must be responsive to the police. Two days ago, there was total miscommunication. The contractor was not responsive, [while the police was] trying to get pieces of equipment out of the way. There must be coordination, teamwork, and precision in getting this work done,” the Head of State contended.