Sheriff-Mandela project: Roundabout at Multi turn likely to be completed next year – Min Edghill

− meetings to be held with respective 4-lane road contractors

Even as the Sheriff-Mandela road extension continues, work will also be done on a roundabout that will connect the four-lane highway being built from Eccles to the Mandela four-lane highway, providing commuters with alternatives to the East Bank of Demerara (EBD).
On Saturday, Public Works Minister Juan Edghill paid a visit to the site, where he was updated by the technical people on the progress of the road. The Eccles-Mandela road itself is being done by the Ministry of Housing and Water. But at some point in time, when the roundabout is being built, the contractor building the Mandela extension will have to cede to this road.
“At the time this contract was signed and conceptualised, that road was not coming there. So the contractor that is building the Sheriff-Mandela road would have to cede some space to the contractor that is coming through. But there’s a joint collaboration in terms of the designing and layout and the connectivity.”
“So, we should be able to have a roundabout in this area. We have the drawings. A contract has already been awarded to Junior Sammy Incorporated. And we have started to do some preparatory work. And I stopped to make sure that the contractors, consultant and my team get a clear understanding. Because somewhere along the line, somebody’s going to say how they say they finish the road and the part by the multilateral school ain’t finish?”

The proposed location to join the Eccles-Mandela road to a roundabout

Edghill explained that the contractor for the Sheriff-Mandela expansion, Sinohydro, cannot proceed with paving and the median, due to the impending roundabout. He noted that there are things that still need to be finalised, such as where the contractor doing the roundabout will take over from Sinohydro.
According to the Minister, a meeting will be arranged with him and the contractors to finalise those details. Additionally, he provided an expected timeframe within which the roundabout will be completed.
“This is going to be an enhancement. Because people who are going to the airport don’t need to continue down Mandela to DSL. Once they come off Sheriff, they get the roundabout. Straight to these four lanes. These four lanes should be able to take them up to Diamond, past the drive traffic.”
“My understanding from the contractor, is that they’re looking to move this ahead by the end of the year. But with the weather, and what I’m seeing here, it may go over into the new year,” Minister Edghill said.
According to Edghill, the project will usher in great possibilities for Guyana, particularly when it comes to opening up new lands for house lots and improving connectivity. He attributed this to his Government’s vision.
“This is a totally different four lane from the one that is coming from Ogle, all the way out. The possibilities of connectivity, accessibility, cutting travel time, opening up new lands at the back, there is great possibility. Sometimes people don’t get the whole picture and we don’t do them justice, because we know what we’re doing. It’s in our head. But we have to take time to explain it,” he said.
The expansion project, which covers approximately seven kilometres of road between Sheriff Street and Mandela Avenue, involves the relocation of utilities; the installation of lane and shoulder improvements; placement of sidewalks and paved shoulders; traffic signals, traffic signs, streetlights, drainage; a pedestrian overhead walkway; culverts, bridges, and a roundabout.
The project was launched in 2018 but faced many setbacks under the former A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Administration. Public Works Minister Juan Edghill had explained that in August 2020, there was no work being done due to the COVID-19 pandemic and because of non-compliance with environmental standards which resulted in the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) being forced to cease disbursements to the project.
The project was eventually restarted in September 2020 and the Dr Irfaan Ali-led People’s Progressive Party (PPP) Administration had anticipated an August 4, 2021 completion.