‘Heroes Highway’ commissioned in memory of fallen soldiers

Dec 11, 2023 News

… late servicemen had chosen replica of an anteater for roadway

By Shervin Belgrave

President Ali applauds as the son of the late Colonel Michael Shahoud cuts the ribbon to officially open the ‘Heroes Highway’.

Kaieteur News – President Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali on Sunday evening commissioned the $13.3 billion (US$65 million) ‘Heroes Highway,’ named in honour of the five fallen soldiers who died in a helicopter crash on Wednesday. The highway connects Eccles with Great Diamond on the East Bank of Demerara (EBD).

President Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali addresses the gathering during the commissioning ceremony

To honour the fallen soldiers, their names, Brigadier (Ret’d) Gary Beaton, Colonel Michael Shahoud, veteran aviator Lieutenant Colonel Michael Charles, Lieutenant Colonel Sean Welcome and Staff Sergeant Jason Khan were engraved in a plaque below a bronze replica of a giant anteater which was erected at the center of the highway’s roundabout at Great Diamond.

President Ali recalled that the anteater was chosen to be the monument at Heroes Highway roundabout by two of the fallen soldiers before they died.

“Today we stand with one of our giants, the giant anteater, chosen by Anson Weekes {GDF Major} , Mike Charles, Jason (Khan) and myself,” Ali said during his emotional speech at the commissioning ceremony on Sunday.

He recalled that the army officers had previously taken him many times by helicopter to the exact spot where the roundabout now stands, to inspect works on the highway.

The unveiling of the plaque engraved with the names of the five fallen soldiers who died in Wednesday’s helicopter crash

The unveiling of a steel structure beside the roundabout with the fallen servicemen names

A scenic shot taken from the roundabout at the Heroes Highway.

“Hundreds of videos of the development of Guyana came from the lens of that chopper,” Ali said of the helicopter, 8R-AYA, which went down in the jungle at Region Seven last week.

To further preserve their memory, Ali said that steel structure with the names of the men will be erected at the Eccles roundabout today.

He said too that Heroes Highway is not only dedicated to the five servicemen who tragically lost their lives in the helicopter crash but for all those who lost their lives in the line of duty.

“This highway from Eccles to Diamond is appropriately named the ‘Heroes Highway’ for all the men and women we lose in the line of duty, henceforth their names will accompany the path of this highway,” he noted.

Ali pointed out that the highway is part of a interlink roadway that will not only connect Berbice and the East Coast of Demerara with the EBD, but also Essequibo with the counties of Berbice and Demerara.

Construction on the highway began in 2021 and is part of multibillion road project partly funded by loans to connect the ECD with the EBD. The Ministry of Housing and Water is tasked with carrying out the massive project which is being done in phases.

In 2021, the contract for the project was awarded to 12 contractors, GuyAmerica Construction Inc, V. Dalip Enterprise, (JV) Colin Talbot Contracting Services and Eron Lall Civil Engineering Works, S. Jagmohan Construction and General Supplies Inc., H. Nauth and Sons, JS Guyana Inc., (JV) VALs Construction and AJM Enterprise, China Railway First Group Company Ltd., Aronco Services Inc., Ivor Allen, (JV) Puran Brothers Disposal Inc. and Khemraj Nauth Contracting Services.

The contractors had 18 months to finish the project which included the construction of some 30 reinforced concrete bridges, two roundabouts, and a total of 9.4 kilometres of reinforced concrete road.

The government plans to extend the highway from Diamond further south to Buzz Bee Dam, Craig, EBD. Contracts worth some $11 billion have already been awarded to carry out these works.

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Diamond, Eccles, fallen soldiers, Heroes Highway', President Ali

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