The much-anticipated Eccles to Mandela Avenue four-lane road is in its final stages, with 95 per cent of the works already completed, and according to Housing and Water Minister Collin Croal, it could be commissioned very shortly.
Updating Guyana Times on the project, Minister Croal disclosed that most of the works are completed with the only delay being a concrete bridge which is now finished.
“We had one delay at Lot Five with the bridge. That is now completed but it is a concrete bridge so once you complete it, you have to have the curing process and they’re just doing some tidying. So, it’s at least 95 per cent complete.”
“So very shortly, once we can be able to have the weight travelling on that part of the road because the rest is ready, we will be commissioning that road,” the Minister noted.
Works on constructing the $2.3 billion four-lane highway from Eccles to Mandela started in April 2021. Contracts were signed with six contractors, each given a lot, and they were supposed to have been completed by December 2021.
However, inclement weather resulted in the project, which will be important in alleviating traffic build-up on the East Bank, being delayed.
“I understand… and I know the urgency to have that connection [ready for use],” the Housing and Water Minister asserted.
Meanwhile, a second phase of that project will see the four-lane road continuing beyond Eccles all the way to Great Diamond on the East Bank of Demerara.
Contracts to the tune of $13.3 billion were awarded to 12 contractors last December and according to Minister Croal, working are progressing.
“Phase Two, the land clearance has started,” he noted.
According to the Minister, mobilisation advances have also been paid already. However, there is a challenge that the contractors have encountered at the lot covering the boundary between the Mocha-Herstelling portion of the road.
“There were about 35 buildings there occupying that stretch. Most of them have already started to move because we have activated that mechanism. We have a few more to sort out but that will probably be the only delay. But we’re clearing there and land clearance [at the other lots] have started. We’re working and pushing to get all of these works done quickly,” the Housing Minister stated.
This four-lane road project is a result of efforts by the President Dr Irfaan Ali-led Government to ease the traffic congestion on the East Bank, which not only leads to the country’s main port of entry – Cheddi Jagan International Airport – but also fields traffic coming from West Demerara.
Already, the Housing Ministry has constructed an alternative road from Diamond Housing Scheme to Mocha on the East Bank to divert traffic from the public road. That project was completed to the tune of $5 billion and opened last December in time for the Christmas holidays.
These projects run alongside the India-funded bypass road project which would link the East Bank Demerara corridor to the East Coast of Demerara, creating a new highway in the backlands.
The Indian Government had provided a US$50 million Line of Credit (LOC) for the road link that was initially slated for Ogle, ECD, to Diamond. Under the previous Government, however, the project was at a standstill for several years.
After taking office in 2020, the People’s Progressive Party Administration has since redesigned the project into three phases to fit the LOC. It will now run from Ogle to Haags Bosch at Eccles in the first phase, then from Eccles to Diamond, and finally from Diamond to Timehri to connect to the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA).
