Kitty roundabout to be opened for Independence Day

As there continues to be mixed reactions by road users over the Kitty roundabout road project, the Public Infrastructure Ministry has embarked on a sensitisation campaign to educate motorist on the correct use of the facility ahead of its opening.
During a press conference on Thursday at the Ministry’s Wright Lane office, Project Engineer Sherod Parkinson disclosed that the project is near completion and the Ministry is looking at an opening and commissioning before Independence Day.
Further updating the media on the project, Parkinson said the project is about 95 per cent complete, with the only things left to do are the road markings and the installation of the road signs. This, barring any unforeseen barriers, should be

completed within the next week and a half, he added.
The Project Manager went on to praise the performance of the contractor, S Jagmohan Hardware Supplies and Constructing Services, in getting the roundabout completed ahead of the June deadline.
“The work started on time, it was executed in a manner above, what we would call the norm in Guyana, and because of the diligence of the contractor and the fact that he committed the resources necessary for project, we were able to get the project completed a month and a half before the schedule,” he stated.
Meanwhile, as preparations are ongoing to have the finishing touches done, the Ministry has embarked on educating motorists and the general public about the correct use of the roundabout.
“Currently we’re in the process of creating an animation that will outline the movements… We also have an e-brochure up right now that are showing the movements and these will also be printed,” MPI Public Relations Officer, Desilon Daniels, revealed.
She went on to note too that the Public Infrastructure Ministry has also been in contact with the Guyana Police Force and the Guyana National Road Safety Council (GNRSC) to further sensitise the public on the use of the facility.
“We’re partnering with all the stakeholders to also get this information out to members of the public on how they could use the roundabout and how they can benefit from it in a most optimum way. So we are going through a public awareness campaign and much of it is going to be continuously rolled out leading

up to the opening and beyond that,” Daniels explained.
The $78.9 million project saw the construction of the circulatory lanes, a truck apron, and central island. According to Parkinson, while some concepts had been floated around initially, there has not been any decision as to what the central island would be used for but he suspects it would be something with an aesthetic appeal.
During the press conference, two engineers – Imran Baksh and Jorge Linton – attached to the Ministry’s Work Services Group (WSG) who designed the project, explained the rationale behind removing the traditional traffic signal interaction, replacing it with a modern round-about and the correct usage of the facility.
The roundabout is expected to reduce waiting and stoppage time for motorists heading to the East Coast of Demerara and those using Carifesta Avenue, Vlissengen Road, and the Kitty Public Road, which will in turn reduce fuel consumption.
When completed, the flow of traffic in the area is expected to significantly improve by 30 seconds since vehicles heading to the East Coast of Demerara and those using Carifesta Avenue, Vlissengen Road, and the Kitty Public Road will no longer have to stop and wait on the traffic light to change, even when no vehicles are in the way.
Other benefits of the roundabout are fewer collisions, which is more prevalent with signal intersections, and the severity of those collisions, of which one of the caused is speeding. The speed limit on the roundabout is 30 kilo meters per hour.