Red Road repairs: Pedestrian walkway created within stockpile compound

As works continue to fix the damaged Red Road, Providence, East Bank Demerara (EBD), the Public Works Ministry on Friday announced the creation of a pedestrian walkway to accommodate persons seeking to safely travel within the area.
“[Public Works Minister Bishop Juan Edghill] is urging persons to use the walkway and avoid the dangers of traversing through the construction area,” a Ministry statement read.
This announcement came about a day after a bulge between six and eight feet rose on Red Road, due to the weight of the stockpile of aggregates on the extension of the parking lot of the National Stadium.
Since then, the Ministry, alongside a number of contractors, have been seeking to repair the 150-metre stretch of damaged road by redistributing the 30,000 tonnes of aggregates in the stockpile to reduce its pressure.
During a press briefing on Friday, prior to the announcement of the walkway, Minister Edghill had noted that some four contractors actively engaged in Government contracts that need crusher run were being involved in this process of redistribution.
Meanwhile, as the use of heavy machinery continues during the rehabilitation works, Edghill emphasised the importance of maintaining the safety of pedestrians as the project currently does not have an exact timeline for completion.
“It’s a real safety concern, because these [contractors] don’t hear you walking and even if you shout and they’re sitting in the machine, they wouldn’t hear you because of the level of noise,” Edghill said.
He explained that on Thursday, the Ministry had engaged the Ramada Georgetown Princess Hotel to allow patrons to bypass the construction work.
“We would prefer not to have people on the carriageway and that’s why immediately, we had the Police engage the security of Princess hotel to get that gate open and we did have some movement,” Edghill said.
“But [on Friday], we don’t have that same facility. I can’t make Princess continue to provide that facility. We will continue to appeal to see people get that. Maybe they have their own safety concerns,” Edghill said.
This stockpile of aggregates emerged from a need to address the shortage of crusher run in the country as the Public Works Ministry sought to collect various levels of aggregates for construction materials to be distributed across various Government projects accordingly.
However, Edghill noted that this Red Road experience is prompting the Ministry to reevaluate the level of tonnage that can be stored in stockpile yards, and potentially enforce some level of regulations in the future.