Sidewalks to be completed by May in Providence/Diamond
─ commuters praise the project
DPI, Guyana, Tuesday, April 2, 2019
Thousands of persons will soon benefit from the sidewalks being built by the Ministry of Public Infrastructure. The two projects will be an asset to the communities of Providence and Diamond housing scheme.
Commencing in January 2019, the project was slated to be completed in March. However, there were a few unexpected setbacks. In an exclusive interview with the Department of Public Information (DPI), an engineer within the Ministry of Public Infrastructure, Carissa Goodings, illustrated those challenges.
“We had two main challenges. Firstly, the utilities in terms of the alignment… We had an encounter with the GTT fibre cables. We had to work around those and that created delays,” Goodings explained.
There was also a modification in the design of the sidewalks in Providence. Goodings clarified that the initial design of the project included sidewalks slated to be built on the southern side of Red Road; along the stretch bordering Massy supermarket, Qualfon and Texila American University. However, due to structural complications with the concrete drains adjoining Massy, a decision was made to build the sidewalks on the opposite end of the road.
With an extended project deadline of May 31 in sight, the commuters of the area are eagerly anticipating the prospect of having sidewalks. Nearby pedestrians that work within the area shared their thoughts with the DPI. One such person was Keith Blackman who said, “I think it is a great idea because this road is very narrow and to actually put a sidewalk will secure persons so that when they are walking there wouldn’t be any issues… no accidents.” A nearby employee in the area, Amera Damon noted: “the sidewalk is very important for our safety since a lot of vehicles have been passing and the road is very narrow.”
Over in the Diamond housing scheme, works are approximately 70 per cent completed, with the construction of sidewalks currently taking place between First and Second avenues. The sidewalks will culminate just outside the Diamond Secondary School. Student of the school, Zachariah Raymond, shared his thoughts about the sidewalk, “it is very useful; you do not get harmed by being knocked down on the road”.
The staff responsible for Traffic, Safety and Maintenance at the Ministry of Public Infrastructure have been working aggressively to identify areas in need of proper road signs, lights and other safety features to safeguard commuters. Plans are currently in place to upgrade many of those very safety features in the country, with a number of the contracts already out for tender.
Shaquille Bourne.
Images: Ameer Sattaur.