Contract signed to identify new East Bank road
Possible bypass to the East Coast on the cards
Stabroek News
May 3, 2003
Efforts to ease the daily traffic congestion on the busy lower East Bank Demerara (EBD) advanced yesterday with the signing of a US$1.5M contract to identify an alternate route from Timehri to the city.
Work on the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) funded project is to be executed by the Vancouver-based firm N D LEA Consul-tants Ltd. It is expected to begin immediately and is scheduled to take ten months.
Signing the contract yesterday morning were Perma-nent Secretary in the Ministry of Public Works, Kenneth Jordan on behalf of the government and Regional Mana-ger for N D LEA, Robert Prescott.
Among the key aspects of the proposed project is the development of an alternative southern approach bypass road linking the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, Timehri and exiting either in the city or on the Lower East Coast Demerara.
By the end of the study it is hoped that blueprints for a suitable alternative bypass would have been developed.
The study also proposes to present the ministry with a feasible engineering, environmental and social solution on which they could build for the future.
The alternative roadway, apart from assisting to ease congestion especially during the morning rush hour, would offer those wanting to avoid the city centre a bypass route.
The new bypass could also be viewed as catering for any increased traffic once the road to Brazil becomes fully operational.
Prescott said the work would require four major components with the first stage already being completed.
Among the other aspects is the assembling of information on the proposed route along with its technical and economic feasibility.
At the end of the study a route recommendation would be submitted to the ministry which if approved would lead to the development of engineering designs.
CEMCO is the company’s local counterpart and is expected to assist with logistics and other services.
The Canadian company was successful over five other firms who bid for the project. Also present at the signing was CEMCO’s Director of Engineering, Raymond Latchmansingh. (Oscar P. Clarke)
