Adam’s comment on construction long overdue

Mar 08, 2014 Letters

DEAR EDITOR,
Adam Harris’s commentary on following sound engineering practices in the construction boom is long overdue (March 2). I have been noting the construction boom over the last decade; kudos to those responsible for the boom and infrastructure development. But I did notice some buildings tilting and some built on unstable ground.
Major accidents are waiting to happen if builders did not utilize engineering designs in constructing some of these structures. Potential home owners and even some builders feel they can throw up a structure like in the past that was done with wood (board building). Constructing a building (of steel and concrete) is a different kettle altogether. Sound designs, piling and use of the right materials (re-enforceable concrete) may be required for heavy structures.
I am not an engineer by training but I have done considerable reading on the construction industry and traveled extensively to learning about construction. Buildings have collapsed in China, France, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Africa, etc., when proper engineering designs were not followed, in unstable areas. Shoddy designs and lack of strong foundations led to collapse of buildings and loss of countless lives and billions of dollars in property.
I recall construction of a road in Trinidad, just outside of San Fernando, that was paved and repaved numerous times and every time it was done, it sank, with some of the road protruding into the side drain. There were similar scenes in other parts of the lovely island. I kept telling officials, paving and repaving was not the issue. Piles were needed to prevent movement of the soil and the road. I noticed last year, piling was done on some of the road work (maybe the work of Brazilian engineers) and the roads seemed to be holding up when I visited the area last month.
Engineers stress sound designs and solid foundation in any construction. Soils are usually tested to determine type of construction or even if a building should be put up in an area. One cannot build “willy nilly” – studies have to carried out.
Unlike, say in New York (where there may be bedrock), Guyana’s soil is not “solid” and is subject to movement. As Adam noted, piling, may be a requirement in Guyana and one has to question what structural designs were utilized if piling was not used to have a stable foundation for a large edifice. Buildings can sink or tilt and even collapse under their own weight if proper engineering requirements are not followed.
The authorities in Guyana need to exercise due regulation and “policing” over the construction industry to ensure that buildings are safely designed and properly constructed. And please, corruption should not be a part of regulation – lives are at stake.
Vishnu Bisram

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