Two years after a multi-million-dollar road was built by the Public Infrastructure Ministry (MPI) at Lima Sands/McNabb in Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam), residents of that community are calling for an investigation to determine how substandard work had been accepted by that Ministry’s engineers.
The state of the Lima Sands Road, Essequibo Coast
According to the residents, the road has become a nightmare for the traversing public. Minibus and hire car drivers plying the Lima Sands/McNabb route are now complaining of the high maintenance costs to their vehicles, occasioned by the deplorable state of the crusher run road which was built in 2018 by the APNU/AFC Government.
“This is making things worse during this COVID-19 lockdown. We cannot transport the full number of passengers to compensate for the wear and tear (to our vehicles, and this is) putting the pressure solely on us,” one driver expressed.
Lima Sands/McNabb, a farming community, depends solely on this particular access road.
Another driver declared that residents using public transportation are the ones most affected, especially those transporting farm produce to the markets.
Several vendors told this publication that, due to the condition of the road, they are now forced to make more than one trip, which incurs added costs to them. They underscored that when they sell at the markets, they have to compete with other sellers while having to bear these extra costs for transporting their produce to and from home.
The Lima Sands Road was built in 2018, and residents claim they were not consulted on the project, and the design was very poor. They also claim the contractor was not fully equipped, leading to the quick deterioration of the road as a result of substandard work.
