Region 7 bridges to be rehabilitated; work on Del Conte road to Monkey Jump to begin
─works to commence on Denham and Cassandra bridges
DPI, Guyana, Wednesday, June 19, 2019
Minister of Public Infrastructure David Patterson announced at a community engagement in Winiperu that works will soon commence on two bridges within the Cuyuni-Mazaruni region. These bridges are in the Denham and Cassandra Crossing.
This move by the Coalition Government is to facilitate the flow of traffic between Regions Seven and Eight. According to Minister Patterson, engineers within the Public Infrastructure Ministry recently visited the bridges to determine the nature of works to be done. Minister Patterson proudly stated, “you will able to once again drive all the way back up from Mahdia – Region 8 to Region 7 instead of coming around on the Mabura trail.”
In explaining the reasons behind the initiative, Minister Patterson noted, “that was done so we can better lower cost of living for people in [Regions] 8 and 7, to give you more access.”
According to Minister Patterson, the linkage of Bartica to Cassandra and Mahdia to Denham bridge is in its finishing stages with only ten kilometres (10km) of works remaining. Hence, contracts for the construction of the 10km zone is out to tender so as to provide a complete road network.
On the other hand, with respect to the Del Conte road to Goshen Road, Minister Patterson highlighted efforts by the Government to make the connection of Parika to Goshen a reality. During remarks, Minister Patterson mentioned that while a feasibility study was done on the aforementioned road linkage, the Government has expanded the scope of the project to include a sturdy and sustainable road from Parika to Monkey Jump. In explaining the reasoning behind the project, Minister Patterson declared that there is a plan to construct a bridge from Monkey Jump to St. Mary’s, to further bridge the divide between the coast and the hinterland.
Furthermore, to move along with this developmental plan, the Public Infrastructure Minister mentioned, “there is a contract out right now getting the road into St. Mary’s […] We are putting our money where our mouth is.”
The community engagement in Winiperu came after the successful execution of the ninth Government Comes to You outreach that was held in Bartica. Minister Patterson was accompanied by cabinet colleague and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hon. Dr. Karen Cummings.
Images: Kawise Wishart