Works intensify to deliver Schoonord-Crane 4-lane highway ahead of deadline
With contractors working to expedite the completion of the Schoonord-Crane four-lane highway in Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara), President Irfaan Ali has announced that the project might be completed months ahead of schedule.
The Head of State during a recent update on the ongoing works, noted that the objective is to work three shifts every day throughout the holidays to complete this project “in the fourth quarter of this year, months ahead of schedule”. The initial timeframe was that the project would be completed by mid-2024.
Trucks delivering materials for the construction of the Schoonord to Crane highway
It was shared on Friday, “In the last 24 hours, more than 10,000 cubic yards of sand were delivered and stockpiled on this project which is equivalent to more than 250 truckloads of sand.”
In September 2022, some $11.8 billion in contracts were signed for the construction of the Schoonord to Crane four-lane highway – a project that is part of a much larger initiative to establish a secondary road link to Parika, East Bank Essequibo (EBE). One of the challenges to executing this project was getting the sand across the current Demerara Harbour Bridge, which has weight limits.
This four-lane highway from Schoonord to Crane will be a modern road with features that will allow for easy and free flow of traffic at both ends. These include two roundabouts, 11 reinforced concrete box culverts, 36 pre-stressed bridges, and road signage and markings.
The project was awarded to eight contractors – VR Construction Inc, Avinash Contracting & Scrap Metal Inc, L-Heureuse Construction and Services Inc, GuyAmerica Construction Inc, AJM Enterprise, Vals Construction, Puran Bros Disposal Inc, and JS Guyana Inc.
Meanwhile, the Crane to Parika phase of the project is currently under review, and works are expected to commence later this year. When completed, the new highway will ease the current traffic congestion, often caused by a bottleneck during peak hours at the Harbour Bridge. There is only one main highway leading from the bridge, passing through Vreed-en-Hoop and leading towards Parika.
