Timehri-to-Bartica road link in design phase – Edghill

The Timehri to Bartica road link, which will see the Government constructing a valuable link that would cut down on travel time to Bartica in Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni), is currently in the design phase.
This is according to Public Works Minister Juan Edghill, in an interview with this publication. He was asked for an update on the Timehri to Bartica road link. He explained that this project is continuing apace and is currently being designed.
“That is continuing with the design. We’ve done the initial trek. That’s at the design phase,” the Minister explained, the trek being a likely reference to preliminary works starting on the road earlier this year.
Back in April, Edghill, former President and Prime Minister Samuel Hinds and a team of technical personnel had inspected the proposed route for the road.  During the inspection, the team travelled from Bartica to Foulmouth Dock on the Essequibo River, then along a logging trail to Makouria River, then on to Sand Hills and Timehri.
Edghill had said at the time that the project would improve the commute between the coast and the hinterland, by significantly reducing travel time. This is because commuters would no longer have to travel to Parika, then journey to Bartica, and vice versa.
Likewise, citizens would not have to travel to Linden, then on to Rockstone, through to Sherima Crossing to take a barge, and then make their way to Bartica. Both routes are lengthy, something the road link would fix.
“We will go to the drawing board with the coordinates. We will look at all of the practicalities and of course, the shortest possible route is what we will be examining. We will probably have to get a geologist to do some soil testing to ensure that we have materials in the closest proximity for the building of that road.”
“I would suspect that within another five, six weeks after this trip, my engineers will be able to do some designing and the monies that are appropriated in 2021 will start cutting an alignment,” Edghill had said.
The People’s Progressive Party (PPP) Government has undertaken several new road projects along the East Bank Demerara (EBD) corridor to ease the heavy traffic congestion normally encountered there.
There is the Ogle to Diamond bypass road, which will create a new highway in the backlands, thus allowing for an alternative route to the country’s two main thoroughfares. This project will see a total of 26 kilometres of road constructed with links to connect key communities in Georgetown and along the East Bank of Demerara.
These include Diamond, Mocha and Eccles – all on the East Bank – and Aubrey Barker Road in Georgetown. These connections will prove crucial in diverting traffic. A new road will run from Sixth Avenue, Diamond, to the Windsor Estate Road that leads on to the Eccles Landfill Site Road. This will form a connection through the new Herstelling Housing Scheme and other schemes that are being developed along the EBD corridor.
A second road is also being constructed between Eccles and Mandela Avenue, which will be completed later this year. Last month, the Housing Ministry signed several contracts to the tune of $2.3 billion for the commencement of work on this road. (G3)