Grave danger to Atlantic Gardens residents

Dear Editor,
Every day, road users on the East Coast highway are exposed to grave danger at the turnoff to Atlantic Gardens, at exactly the same spot where there was a major traffic crisis on Mother’s Day 2018, which I wrote about in a letter to the media in May.
Eventually, the Ministry of Public Infrastructure offered an apology, which was published in the various newspapers.
Residents of Atlantic Gardens risk injury, or even death daily, plus the possibility of serious damage to their vehicles, because they are forced to cross a perilous bridge that was broken up as part of roadworks in that area being done by Chinese contractors and Guyanese engineers.
Finding a safe way to cross this partially dismantled bridge is not for the faint of heart. Sand has been dumped there, but the seasonal heavy rainfall has added mud and debris, transforming it into treacherous, slippery slush that has several flooded potholes in it. Some parts of this loam bridge are also breaking away as the water tries to find its way into the gutter.
As such, the risk increases at night in this poorly-lit area.
The blame for this lies squarely at the feet of the contractors and engineers in charge of the roadworks. They just go merrily about their business as if they have absolutely no interest in maximizing commuters’ safety and minimizing their inconvenience.
Apart from people possibly getting killed or injured, there is also the possibility of Government, or more accurately the taxpayers of this country, paying out millions of dollars to settle huge lawsuits arising from injuries and damages due to the slackness of the project managers.
Why aren’t the engineers overlooking this project ensuring that the work is properly done? Don’t the contractors know better?
Who is ensuring that these contractors and engineers are doing their jobs properly with the interest of the Guyanese people at heart? Will it take death, severe injuries, or huge lawsuits to teach them to ensure the managers of the roadworks are doing the work properly?
I also urge the ministry’s public relations officer who issued the apology for the Mother’s Day crisis to come to the spot and witness first-hand the gravity of the situation. Then, hopefully, the ministry and project overseers would change their flowery words into effective action.

Sincerely,
Roshan Khan Snr