East Coast railway embankment expansion to be completed in 28 months

The government has awarded a contract to expand the East Coast Demerara (ECD) railway embankment into a new four-lane road and in just over two years’ time, commuters can expect further relief to the ongoing traffic congestion.

The award of this contract was announced on Monday by Vice President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo.

The Vice President told residents of Georgetown that the government is pursuing several road expansion projects to improve traffic flow into and out of the capital city, Georgetown.

Among those projects is the newly-pursued expansion of the roadway from Conversation Tree to Dennis Street, and the establishment of a new bypass road from Ogle to Eccles.

In another 28 months, however, Jagdeo said that the railway embankment from Sheriff Street to Mahaica will be expanded into a four-lane roadway.

“We’ve just awarded another contract,” he said, referring to this embankment expansion project.

He did not offer further details on what company has been selected to execute this project, the cost of the project or when the contract was awarded.

This road was formerly the British Guiana railway and it has served as an alternate carriageway for commuters for years. The current pave stretch of roadway begins at Sheriff Street in Georgetown and ends at Enmore, ECD.

In June, Finance Minister Dr. Ashni Singh disclosed that the government is seeking to upgrade this road. Then in July, Public Works Minister Juan Edghill explained that the project was in its procurement stage.

Already, works have been ongoing to upgrade the bridges along the railway embankment. What the government has been doing is replacing steel panels with more durable concrete structures– a move that could soon become the standard all across the country.