Motorists decry condition of Parfaite Harmonie access road

Motorists and residents utilising the La Parfaite Harmonie access road at Schoonord on the West Bank of Demerara, are calling on the relevant authorities to execute urgent repairs on certain sections of the road since it is plagued by large potholes.

The residents are contending that the pothole-riddled road causes severe mechanical damages to their vehicles, which amounts to hundreds of thousands of dollars in repairs. In addition to the deplorable state of the road, the 3.5-kilometer stretch of road is yet to be outfitted with streetlights. According to road users, traversing the road is dangerous at nights because of the potholes, no lighting and the presence of cows.
Motorcyclist, Andrew Camacho told Guyana Times that approximately three weeks ago, he unexpectedly slipped into a pothole, which threw him off his bike resulting in minor injuries.
“Me and my wife was coming home from (George)town and because we live at Last Bridge (West Minister) we does use this road to go home and that was around 7:30 (19:00h) when I missed that hole and slip in it. The bike fall on my wife foot and sprain she ankle and me get some bruise,” the man related.
He added that he would have had to spend over $20,000 to get his bike fixed and is hoping that the road is fixed before a more serious accident occurs.
The road was constructed to the tune of over $604 million and commissioned in September 2014 – BK International and Gaico Construction undertook the project.
Since the commissioning, the road has rapidly deteriorated as a result of the high volume of heavy-duty vehicles that traverse the road carting building materials, among other things, as the scheme rapidly develops. Just last year, Gaico Construction Company’s workmen were fixing potholes along the road and following a deadly accident early this year, it was outfitted with several speed humps.
However, residents are contending that the speed humps do little or nothing to curb the speeding issue along the road. Additionally, they are claiming that the potholes are appearing overnight which is indicative of substandard construction of the access road.
Presently, the Schoonord access road serves as one of three access points to the La Parfaite Harmonie Housing Scheme, with the other two being through Independence Street, La Grange and Canal Number One.
A hire car driver, Andy Singh, told Guyana Times that he operates from the housing scheme to Vreed-en-Hoop and because of the road’s close location to his destination point, it is ideal for him to use. The man said his vehicle is being damaged on a regular basis and is pleading with the authorities to have the road fixed.
“Bai what me go tell yuh? Is every other month I got to change me tyres on this car because is not just this road that bad. If you go round this scheme you go see more bad road than good one but nobody nah do nothing,” he said.
The Parfaite Harmonie Housing Scheme is laden with deplorable roads and residents have been repeatedly calling on the Government to address their concerns. In addition to roads, the condition of the Parfaite Harmonie Health Centre leaves much to be desired while the sides of the road serve as a hiding spot for petty thieves.

Government’s response
On Saturday, Central Housing and Planning Authority’s (CH&PA) Project Director Omar Narine told this publication that they are aware of the condition of the roads and that measures are being put in place to address the issue.
He said the CH&PA is working with the Public Infrastructure Ministry to develop an estimate to have the main access road fixed.
Public Infrastructure Minister David Patterson has said Government is addressing the issue, and pointed out that “contracts are out for (its) repair and maintenance.” Meanwhile, Minister within the Communities Ministry, Valarie Adams-Yearwood had earlier this year promised that the roads in the area would be upgraded.
“We are doing road upgrades at Parfaite Harmonie and Westminster and those works will commence in about two weeks; and through the reformulated [Inter-Development Bank] IDB loan in 2018, we are going to spend over $500 million to do upgrade works in Parfaite,” the Minister had said.
“I know they (residents) have been complaining about the state of the roads. We are paying attention, and we are listening to people; and while we can’t deal with everything immediately, we are paying attention to the ones that are more critical,” Adams-Yearwood added.