The Infrastructure Ministry has missed the point on the East Coast road

Sep 30, 2018 Letters

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Dear Editor,
In response to a letter captioned, “Poor management on major road projects is an indictment”, which was published on September 18, 2018, the Ministry of Public Infrastructure sought to respond by letter dated September 27, 2018, in which corrective measures implemented for the Sheriff Mandela Project was highlighted.
I wish to point out that the response letter has missed its mark by more than a mile. The concerns raised regarding poor environmental management on the East Coast four-lane project was completely ignored.
The efforts put in place for Sheriff-Mandela was highlighted in the letter.
This provided a clear indication of the double standards due to the absence of the same mitigation systems for the East Coast road project.
Similarly, mitigation measures for donor-funded projects are different from Government-funded projects- this seems to be a common trend.
The efforts put in place for Sheriff- Mandela, according to the letter, includes public service announcements; consultations with schools; meeting with residents; maintenance of two lanes; restriction of trucks offloading materials during peak hours; flaggers; barriers; warning signs; enforcement of traffic management plan, etc.
The big question is, ‘Was the same done for the East Coast four-lane expansion?’
We wish to reiterate that the East Coast project is poorly managed and it’s only a matter of time before a major mishap occurs.
Commuters are faced daily with lengthy delays because of the absence of basic mitigation measures.
Unpaved diversions, lack of directional and basic advisory signs to guide the flow of traffic are absent.
Large sections of the roadway are completed and can be paved in sections thereby alleviating dust as well as traffic nuisance. Why is this not done?
Noteworthy to mention is that the railway embankment was constructed by Dipcon Engineering as a diversion for the Georgetown to Timehri Road construction project.
Using the embankment to alleviate traffic bottlenecks requires a coordinated and well-planned approach including liaison with the police, coordination with the contractor’s activities and supervisory agencies.
If the contractor were to work in small sections then diversion of traffic to the embankment would have been realistic to alleviate bottlenecks.
Further to this, it seems as though China Railway is client, contractor and consultant on this job as MPI cannot respond to these issues and the consultant seems to be sleeping under a carpet of dust.
Indeed, there are more signs placed now but more is needed.
The current signs are non-compliant with MUTCD standards, some are very small and most are not reflective at night.
Basic advisory signs indicating the beginning or end of diversions, directional signs, signs highlighting drop-off or construction in progress are absent.
Again, the MUTCD is clear on the signs required for such projects.
To compound matters, drivers suffer huge time delays whilst queuing resulting in significant increase in fuel consumption, and most get to work late and stressed.
This has reduced workers’ productivity and more so at a time when companies need every saving to keep their business profitable.
To reduce waiting time in the lines, commuters sometimes drive within the construction area (which is between the two existing lanes).
This results in a hazardous situation where vehicles cut in front of other to merge into the existing lanes. The construction area must be cordoned preventing access to active areas.
In addition, the time and wear and tear caused by this poor management have to be absorbed by Guyanese as there is no compensation for damage etc to commuter’s vehicles.
We have grown to accept the poor performance of the public sector, so this clearly does not affect the public sector.
Traffic management is absent, in many instances, construction equipment cross the road or offload materials without any flaggers, on the rear occasion when flaggers are present there is no stop and go signs.
Huge bottlenecks result from trucks stopping in the middle of the road to offload materials, in some cases equipment is working in the travelling lane without traffic cones resulting confusion to commuters.
Driving through the site at night is a major safety hazard due to huge drop-offs that are left open or cordoned with caution tape, which is not visible at night.
Barriers to cordon huge drop-off should be sturdy and made of wood or metal with reflective tape to ensure visibility at nights. More flashing beacons are needed.

Dust control requires significant improvement, while the site is wetted; the prevailing weather conditions require an intensified effort to mitigate this nuisance.
The nuisances experienced daily will only multiply exponentially since the contactor continue to open large new areas without the adequate resource to ensure public safety and provide for a smooth flow of traffic.
It is imperative that the supervisors of the East Coast roadway project conduct a walk through and a night audit of the entire corridor to address issues that require immediate attention.
While there is a great need for better planning and execution of construction projects in Guyana, clearly, we have either learnt nothing from previous road contracts, or corruption remains so rampant that many continue to turn a blind eye.
And to compound matters, we have brought the worst foreign contractors in the form of Chinese, notorious for their sub-standard work worldwide, who offer nothing in improving the local standards of engineering or implementing any level of environmental standards.
Noteworthy to mention that employees, who spoke out about lack of payment for services provided, were fired; why is this even allowed?
This project is indeed a major indictment and requires a stalwart effort by the regulatory agencies to enforce the applicable regulations. The project continues to be executed in contravention to OSHA, International and local standards regarding safety.
Concerned Professionals
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Editor’s Note: The persons who were reportedly fired were hired as sub-contractors. China Railway has said that they had nothing to do with it. The truckers are said to be back at work.

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