Public Works officials concerned road expansion will affect drainage

May 14, 2012 News

Senior managers of the Public Works Ministry are concerned that the current designs of the East Bank and East Coast Demerara Public Road expansion projects do not provide adequate drainage to the areas.
This is according to Technical Adviser to Public Works Minister, Walter Willis, who disclosed that ongoing works to fill existing waterways to construct new roadways have proven to result in flooding after heavy downpours.

A section of the East Bank Demerara canal that is being filled

The East Bank four-lane expansion works are ongoing from Providence to Diamond, where the main drainage canals run from east to west and empty into the Demerara River. The canal that runs north to south is being filled so the roadway can be expanded.
And the East Coast extension project starts from Better Hope to Golden Grove where the main drainage runs from north to south and empties into the Atlantic Ocean. Along this corridor the east to west drainage system is being filled so the road can be widened.
According to Willis, the Ministry is seeking to reroute the drainage systems on the East Bank and East Coast of Demerara. Without going into details, he explained that in some areas there is already alternative drainage.
He indicated that the rerouting plans should be concluded before construction is completed because “you can’t fill drains in your yard without having alternative.”
In the case of the East Bank construction works, Willis explained that the new roadway will block the east to west flow of water into the Demerara River. As such, another canal running east to west will be dug behind the villages, until concrete drains are constructed. He emphasized this was done when the four-lane road was being built from Ruimveldt to the Demerara Harbour Bridge.
However, he is questioning when the rerouting plans would conclude.
Willis refused to comment on why this challenge was not foreseen when the East Bank road was being designed and plans to widen the East Coast roadway were being crafted. The design for the East Coast four-lane road was not completed when construction works to widen the road began last year.
He also declined to comment on whether the communities would be affected by severe flooding after the construction has concluded. But he expressed hope that this would not occur.