Sophia bridge, roads to undergo major rehabilitation following ministerial visit
Major infrastructural works involving roads and bridges being rehabilitated have been announced for ‘B’ Field, Sophia, Greater Georgetown.
This community had been promised this facelift following a ministerial visit by Housing and Water Minister Collin Croal; Tourism, Industry and Commerce Minister, Oneidge Walrond; Minister within the Public Works Ministry, Deodat Indar; and Minister within the Office of the Prime Minister, Kwame McCoy.
Inspection is being carried out across the community, and residents are being engaged on current issues
A technical team has already inspected the infrastructure, and according to Minister Deodat Indar, most of the roads need immediate intervention. In some cases, there aren’t any paved thoroughfares, just an alley for people to walk.
“We went through all the cross streets apart from the main access road. On the main access road, there is a piece of about 300 feet with consistent failures, where there is no road actually, just a little asphalt with dirt. It is slipping into the trench. That needs immediate attention,” Minister Indar has said.
“The cross streets where the residents are living, especially one street where there is a daycare centre, need immediate intervention. Most of the places we came across here, save for a few roads, need immediate attention. There is no road, just a free space with mud that people walk in,” he outlined.
The ‘Blacka’ Bridge, measuring approximately 40 feet in length, is on the verge of collapse, and cannot withstand heavy vehicular traffic.
Coming out of this inspection, Minister Indar announced immediate interventions to fix the dilapidated structures and provide better infrastructure to residents.
“We have to look at what envelope of spending we have to see how much we can do, when we can do it, and how we can start the implementation of the works…,” he explained. “Our Government’s philosophy is that every community will be uplifted, so we have to make sure that we do our part here.”
Works to be undertaken in this community include those to be done on the bridge, which, until it is completed, would be replaced with a bypass in order to facilitate the traversing of vehicles.
Indar shared. “You can’t just shut off the community from crossing; so that is what has to happen here (installation of a bypass), to ensure smooth flow of traffic and building at the same time. A lot of time, something that is meant for good turns out bad, so you got to make sure that (does not) happen here,” he explained.
Meanwhile, Minister Croal pointed out that a team from the Housing and Water Ministry would return to the community to work with residents occupying the Government reserve, since the current main road needs to be widened. Persons occupying the reserve would be relocated in order to facilitate these developmental works.
“We will work with those residents occupying the reserve, because we need much wider use of the current road. The road helps to ease some of the traffic from going onto Sheriff Street. We have a new housing scheme that is opening…so we will work immediately with those persons here to have relocation and removal on the reserve itself,” Croal has told the media.
