Public Works Minister Juan Edghill is calling on residents to respect and adhere to the curing time set by engineers and ministry officials especially for newly built concrete roads, which require a specific period before the road is fully cured and ready to be used.
The minister made this plea after visiting a newly rehabilitated road at Republic Drive in Beterverwagting, East Coast Demerara, where residents’ non-adherence to notices placed on a recently completed section of the road has resulted in the structural integrity of the road being threatened.
The roads, identified earlier by residents for rehabilitation, are being reconstructed into rigid pavement concrete roads.
The curing process, to allow for the setting of concrete, typically requires a specific period without the interference of road use.
“We want to appeal to all residents and road users, while [the road] is under construction, to understand that every time you break through the barricade and drive on the road before it is completed or cured, you’re incurring damages, it is going to incur costs to the contractor and it’s going to also delay the project.”
“There must be a curing period of 14 days. Sometimes we try to compromise depending on the weight of the vehicles traversing, to seven days,” Edghill stated.
Minister Edghill explained that despite the placement of road barriers and issuance of several notices to residents barring any road use, they were continually ignored.
He noted that in the interim, residents were advised to park elsewhere and alternative routes of travel were facilitated.
As road projects continue countrywide, the Public Works Minister used the opportunity to further appeal to all affected residents to adhere to instructions given, reminding them of the long-term benefits that will ensue.
“We want to execute the projects. We want to bring the benefits to the people that [require them]. But we just can’t have people in a reckless, unreasonable way damage work, remove barricades and use the structures.”
“We want to ask people to desist from doing that. And for those of you in other communities, let’s learn from the [Beterverwagting] experience and understand once we’re doing concrete roads in communities, we have to be patient until we get them done,” the minister added.
