Engineers working to repair damaged Providence Road

Contractors and engineers are working assiduously to repair the extensive damage to the Providence Access Road, popularly called ‘Red Road’ on the East Bank Demerara.

Minister of Public Works, Bishop Juan Edghill, providing an update on these works on Friday, said that two contractors are currently on site. The work is being executed by Excel Engineering and GuyAmerica.

On Thursday, the main access road at Providence suffered damage stretching approximately 150 metres. Stockpile aggregates of some 30, 000 tonnes stored in a nearby lot caused a severe split in the road.

Emergency contractors were mobilised to conduct a full reconstruction of the damaged portion and to redistribute the stockpiled aggregate.

“We have since been able to arrange orders with contractors who need an urgent supply of crusher run, and for today, we expect to move about 9, 000 out of the 30, 000 tonnes outside. There are four contractors actively engaged in government contracts that need crusher run, so we have our auditors on site,” the minister said.

Stressing that the priority is ensuring that the road is rehabilitated to ensure the resumption of the smooth flow of traffic into the area, Minister Edghill noted that prior to this occurrence, the government had initiated several development plans for the area.

“We want to be able to execute a turning lane so that the traffic will not be backed up. I have asked my team to look at the possibility of how we can get that done at the same time while we are having this current inconvenience to execute those works,” the minister explained.

Minister Edghill assured that the government and the various contractors and entities will be working to complete the work in the shortest possible time.

The public works minister also commended the quick response of the various entities, including Guyana Power and Light, Guyana Water Incorporated and GTT Inc.

He added that the pedestrians traversing the area pose a safety concern for the ministry and the contractors, and urged that commuters avoid that area while works are ongoing.