Work to seal two of the three areas of the Buxton seawall breached on Friday last when extremely high tides attacked the Guyana coastline was expected to be completed yesterday.

Employees of the sea defence emergency works unit of the Ministry of Public Works and Communications were yesterday busy putting the finishing touches to a concrete wall erected at the largest of the breached areas under the supervision of project engineer, Mike Lall. At the time of this newspaper's visit yesterday morning, materials were being transported to the breach site to facilitate work on its closure.

The work at the two other breached sections, which is being undertaken by independent contractors, was also progressing apace yesterday with workmen from the respective contracting teams applying concrete plaster to one and breaking boulders at the other.

At the 57-ft breach, work had progressed to a stage where some three-quarters of the wall was completed and the rest was scheduled to be finished by afternoon.

The 27-ft breach, where a contractor hired by the Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC) is undertaking work, should be completed by tomorrow. Work on that site only commenced yesterday.

Speaking with Stabroek News yesterday during a visit to the Buxton foreshore, Lall assured that work was expected to conclude by yesterday afternoon.

According to the project engineer, two sizes of stone are being used in the construction of the mass concrete type structure, which will not have steel reinforcement.

The stones are being set in cement to form a compact mass, which is being built some three feet thick and is expected to stand up to the onslaught of the Atlantic waves which lash the Guyana coastline. Once this is completed, backfilling is to begin behind the wall, especially around the breached sections.

Since the breaches occurred, several key officials have visited to observe the situation firsthand and have noted the state of the 40-odd-year-old wall.

Among the first on the scene was Head of the Sea Defence Unit, Mahadeo Persaud, who was dispatched to the site on Friday afternoon following the wall's collapse. Subsequently, Minister of Transport and Hydraulics, Anthony Xavier, toured the site on Saturday and immediately designated some 5,000 ft of the seawall for immediate remedial work under the emergency works programme of the ministry.

The wall has several areas which are weak and in urgent need of attention. This has been exacerbated by the strong tides.