Traffic congestion on the East Bank of Demerara and in the Greater Georgetown area will soon be eased with the completion of the much-anticipated Eccles to Mandela four-lane road project.
Sharing some updated photos of the near completed project, President Dr Irfaan Ali on his Facebook page on Sunday said, “Soon, the Mandela to Eccles four-lane alternative road link will be completed and open to the public. This will significantly reduce the traffic congestion on East Bank Demerara”.
Contacted for more information on the project, Housing Minister Collin Croal said that he does not want to put a timeline to the project but reassured that it will be within a month’s time.
“We just have one more bridge to complete and some minor works. So, it will definitely be soon… Let’s say within the next month,” Minister Croal indicated.
Last month, the Housing Minister had indicated the project would be completed by February month-end. He was at the time talking about budget allocations to improve road connectivity under his ministry this year.
“You have the final set of payments to be made on the current four-lane from Mandela to Eccles… And so, within the first quarter, persons can be able to access (the road),” Minister Croal explained.
Work 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.
The Eccles to Mandela four-lane project is a result of efforts by the 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 Minister 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, the project was at a standstill for several years.
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).
