Contractor to fix damaged West Dem. access road

Jan 24, 2019 News

Officials attached to contracting firm BK Engineering have accepted responsibility for damaged access road located at La Union West Coast Demerara (WCD).
In fact, even before the construction, the company dispatched an environmental officer to speak with the residents.
This was to alert them to the fact that there would be road damage.
The damaged road became a source of contention for residents of the quiet rural community located just outside Crane, after it was destroyed by heavy-duty trucks traversing the area.
Over the past year, residents watched as the trucks transformed the once solid bitumen surface into a pot- holed mud dam.
Ram Singh and his wife, Pramie Singh, are firsthand witnesses to the destruction of the road. The couple has been complaining bitterly about the problem.
“The road was paved with bitumen but after the trucks break it up, they throw sand and left it to fall apart,” the couple related.
The elderly couple explained that the trucks have been utilizing the pathway in front their home to carry out river defence works.
According to the contract between Government of Guyana, (GoG), the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), and the engineering firm, BK Engineering is obligated to repair any damage incurred to the access road at La Union, West Coast Demerara (WCD) over the duration of the river defence project.
BK Engineering commenced work on the $1B river defence project in August 2017. The project was scheduled to be extended over 18 months and be completed by the end of February.
However, even as the end of the project draws near, residents are concerned whether the contractor will actually honour the commitment.
Kaieteur News has since reached out to officials of the contracting company who confirmed that the firm does have a commitment to fix the road.
“We are aware of the concerns raised by the residents. An environmental officer has met and spoken to the residents before but the project is not yet complete.
“We will fix the road but our focus is not on the damage done to road at this time until the sea defence aspect of the project is completed,” a spokesperson for the company explained briefly.
Meanwhile, residents are claiming that the road is not the only thing that is negatively impacted by the operation.
“Because the road is so bad now when the rain fall it get holes and then when the sun come, it turn to dust again. It’s not just the condition of the road; it’s the dust affecting us.
When the wind blows, the house is covered in dust from the road. All our food and everything is covered in dust, we can’t continue to live like this.”
Mrs. Singh recalled that officials from the construction firm visited their home to inform them about the impending work.
“Three officials came and they told me that they will have to do work with lots of big bricks and heavy-duty trucks and so.
“They said that it was for the sea defence. I never thought it was such a massive project. These vehicles, long like train and they carry these huge boulders, so whenever they pass, the house shakes.”
“However, when the officials visited us, they said that they took photographs of my house, the road and environment and so on.
“They told us that they were committed to repairing any damage done during the process of the time when they would pass with these things to do their work.
“When they finish now, they said they were going to repair it or compensate us, and I took their word for granted.
“Now, the trucks break up the road and leave big holes… when the rain falls, it has pools of water in front my gap,” she added.

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