Work to be done on over 4000 community roads – VP Jagdeo

…as $3.1B spent on community roads in 1st half of 2022

Over the next few years, the Government plans to do remedial works on between 4000 to 5000 community roads across Guyana, including roads that were previously neglected.
This is according to Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo, during a recent interview that was broadcast on social media. He explained that while the Government has been focused on getting the bigger road projects out of the way, they will be transitioning to doing more work on community roads.

“We’re now transitioning back to community roads that were neglected. So, in the next two, three years, we’d have to do maybe 4000 – 5000 community roads across the country. Good, solid roads so that when people come out from their houses, they can see the benefits.”
“Because for a man who in the morning has to come out on the road in a mud dam, you know, building the highway may not have such a big impact, personally, on him as his community road. But we had to get the programme started,” he said.

$3.1 billion
Meanwhile, it was revealed in the Finance Ministry’s recently released mid-year report that for the first half of 2022 the sum of $3.1 billion was spent to rehabilitate and construct community roads in Regions Two, Three, Four, Five, Six and 10, under the Miscellaneous and Urban Roads Programme.
“The Hinterland Roads Programme also saw $1.2 billion expended on projects including the rehabilitation of Moruca Main Access Road Phase 3, Mabaruma to Hosororo, Orealla to Kwakwani, 5 Mile Housing Scheme Road, Mahdia Main Access Road, Tabatinga Drive (internal roads), and Mabura to Mango Landing.”
“It should be noted that the inclement weather has caused some delays in implementation of the Hinterland Roads Programme. However, it is expected that the works will be accelerated during the second half of the year, with anticipated dry weather,” the mid-year report also said.
At present, the Government of Guyana is embarking on a massive, countrywide road-widening project. This is due to the fact that the existing width of roads is not adequate for the ever-increasing traffic.
This was announced by Minister within the Public Works Ministry, Deodat Indar, back in June. He had noted that with the massive development Guyana is projected to undergo from its oil and gas sector, the Government will invest in opening out those chokepoints and constructing connector roads, so that people can move freely.
For example, the Minister explained, road widening works will commence on the road at Grove leading to Good Success, East Bank Demerara (EBD), and it will be paved all the way to the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA), Timehri, EBD.
According to the Minister, by the end of this year, the Government is hoping to finalise funds to put out tenders for the paving of the Soesdyke-Linden Highway. The chokepoint at the La Penitence Road which leads into Albouystown, Georgetown will also be widened to three lanes. Widening works will also be done at Cemetery Road, Georgetown, which will see the addition of two to three more lanes to accommodate more traffic onto the Back Road.
Similar works will be done on the road by the Russian Embassy in Georgetown, which when completed would allow for four lanes of traffic to come from Conversation Tree, Greater Georgetown and onto Durey Lane, Campbellville Georgetown. (G3)