Welcome news on the streets
Editorial
Guyana Chronicle
July 24, 2004
THOSE living along and who regularly use the four streets in Georgetown earmarked for repairs under the Urban Development Programme (UDP) must be eagerly looking forward to smoother days ahead.
They have been promised a smoother ride within six months when the repairs to Bent Street, Hadfield Street, Lombard Street and John Street are due to be completed.
Officials at the Thursday signing of the contracts totalling some $163.8M between the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development and B&J Civil Works, said the streets are among those badly in need of repairs.
UDP Project Coordinator, Mr. Godfrey Williams said these were identified by the Georgetown municipality in concurrence with the ministry and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) which is funding the scheme.
The four were selected because of their importance within the capital city, he noted.
According to officials, once construction specifications are met the street repairs should last for 10 years.
Meeting construction specifications is an important factor as President Bharrat Jagdeo noted when he earlier this week inspected road and bridge works on the East Coast Demerara.
He said that while he was satisfied with the progress so far, some parts did not meet the required standard.
The President, speaking to engineers, stressed the importance of producing quality work.
He noted that some sections of the road, particularly the shoulders, were already failing due to poor construction. This was evident at Non Pariel and in the Mahaica area.
While care must be taken on meeting building specifications, measures must also be implemented after construction to ensure that the streets last as long as the period projected.
Some streets in Georgetown that were repaired several years ago have clearly not lasted as long as many had expected and are again in need of extensive repairs.
Weight and traffic restrictions have evidently not been adhered to on some of these streets and these have been major contributory factors in earlier than projected deterioration.
A lot of money is being spent on fixing streets and roads around the country and it is an abominable waste when measures intended to make them last over a period are not implemented.
Trucks hauling heavy containers are bound to rapidly destroy streets that are not made to accommodate that kind of load and the authorities charged with maintaining roads and streets have to be firmer in implementing measures to preserve the condition of newly-repaired or built thoroughfares.
Residents living along these streets and roads also have a responsibility to alert those in charge about breaches of the guidelines by containers, `bush’ trucks and other vehicles.
Greater use should also be made of `sleeping policemen’ and height barriers to help preserve the streets and roads not built to accommodate the road giants.