West Coast to Ruimveldt road project could start March
Likely cost put at US$24M
By Miranda La Rose
Stabroek News
August 5, 2002
The proposed West Coast Demerara to Ruimveldt Road Improvement Project, scheduled to get underway in March next year once funding is approved, will cost some US$24 million.
The proposed project will include upgrading the Public Road from the Demerara Harbour Bridge to Ruimveldt to a four-lane road to ease congestion and provide easy access to the city. This part of the project has been long promised and long awaited by commuters who suffer through the daily horrors of snail’s pace traffic on the East Bank Road.
Meanwhile, residents will like to see a framework established in which they could assist in monitoring the project and making recommendations if and when the need arises.
At a scoping meeting with residents of the Eccles/ Ramsburg Neighbourhood Democratic Council on Saturday at the Eccles Primary School, Technical Adviser in the Public Works Ministry Walter Willis said that Government is hoping to present its proposal for funding to the Caribbean Development Bank by year-end.
In the meantime the engineering and environmental consultants are conducting feasibility and design studies as well as social and environmental surveys to arrive at the final design for the project.
The project, Willis said will be conducted in two phases, the first being the rehabilitation of the West Coast Demerara Road from the Demerara Harbour Bridge to Parika and from Parika to St Lawrence in Region Three while the second phase - the construction of the four-way lane - will cover the Demerara Harbour Bridge to Ruimveldt.
The second phase will include upgrading a number of access streets into the city to ease traffic congestion as well.
The engineering consultants are Toronto, Canada-based SNC Lavalin and the environmental assessment is headed by environmental consultant Paulette Bynoe of the University of Guyana. The consultancies won through the tendering process are valued at US$800,000.
Willis noted that as far as scoping meetings go, the consultants have been meeting with the administrations of the Regional Democratic Councils of Regions Three (West Demerara/Essequibo Islands) and Four (Demerara/Mahaica) and the Mayor and City Council. They were also meeting regularly with the Traffic Department of the Guyana Police Force.
He assured that there will be no major changes in alignment and no acquisition of property.
Project Team Leader and engineer Wasi Hanafi, in an overview of the project noted that it was being developed in such a way to be economically affordable.
Among the features will be a fence to keep people and animals from encroaching on the highway. There will, however, be gaps within the fence to allow pedestrians to cross the road. There will also be provision for U-turns apart from intersections on the roadway.
Vending on the roadside as is the custom at present will not be allowed. This was especially evident at Eccles and Bagotstown.
The NDC Chairman, Kumar A Kumar has noted that the NDC has not granted anyone permission to use the parapets for businesses or for vending purposes but added that there were persons in the administration, particularly the Public Works Ministry who are sympathetic to some and regularise their operation, bypassing the NDC. He said the problem gets bigger when these very small operations expand on the very lands that government now needs for the upgrading of the road.
Among concerns raised were accommodation for vendors now selling on the roadside, limited or no space for cycling in sections of the four-way lane, drainage and parking areas. There was a suggestion that footpaths be built over covered drains to maximise the use of space.
They expressed concerns about the longevity of the road noting that the same roadway which was rehabilitated in recent years was already “a total mess” especially the left shoulder of McDoom; and were also concerned about whether it would be a heavy duty road to take off anticipated traffic coming through from the Guyana/Brazil route.
Hanafi noted that because the road is not an entirely new one and was being built along what is already there, that space will be one of the constraints within which the road will be built and it was not the intention of government to acquire lands in widening the roadway.
Proposals are also in place for traffic lights to be set up at the junction of the Demerara Harbour Bridge and Bagotstown. Adequate street lighting is also another proposal.
In her presentation, Bynoe noted that as the project was not an entirely new one, it did not require an Environmental Impact Assessment but the project needed an Environmental Management Plan to minimise or manage negative impacts as well as a survey of the socio-economic baseline of the area involved and the impact on the livelihood of the people there.
She noted that a certified expert has begun the identification of the flora and fauna and a mapping exercise of socio-economic activities from Ruimveldt to St Lawrence. Giving an idea of socio-economic survey, she noted that on the West Coast Demerara alone there were some 113 Chinese restaurants.
Even though the turnout at the meeting was low it was fairly lively with a number of questions being asked and concerns and recommendations being forwarded.
Willis noted that only on Friday the ministry reminded residents and businesses in the area about the meeting and shared out 100 handbills about the upcoming project. Among those who were informed were car dealers in the areas, the Demerara Oxygen Company (DOCOL), gas stations in the area, mechanic shops, vendors and restaurants.