The access road (Red Road) to Plantation Providence, East Bank Demerara (EBD), was severely damaged on Thursday afternoon, rendering it unusable.
Though emergency repairs got underway immediately, Minister of Public Works Juan Edghill noted that he cannot yet say when the road will be completely fixed.
“I am unable to tell you a timeline. We’re trying to move as fast as possible,” Edghill told reporters on Friday afternoon when he visited the site.
Edghill was also unable to provide a cost for the repairs. According to him, the cost will be determined by the extent of the work needed.
Currently, two contractors are trying to repair the roadway. Four other contractors have been redistributing the 30,000 tonnes of stockpiled building material nearby that caused the damage in the first place.
Edghill, however, noted that equal or heavier loads of materials were stored at the location. Now the ministry has to evaluate how the soil would have deteriorated overtime given the weight of the materials stored there.
And he doesn’t believe that any person should be blamed for the damages to the road.
“I don’t know if we should go to the blame game as yet.
“We don’t know if it was intentionally done. We had equivalent tonnage yet but it would have appeared that the constant use destabilised the soil.
“I don’t think any engineer or manager at the Ministry of Public Works would have anticipated this,” he said.
This road which serves as the main entrance for thousands of residents living at Plantation Providence and Peters Hall is now closed until further notice due to the substantial damage caused to roughly 150 metres of it.
Meanwhile, Edghill also said pedestrians should not walk near where the repairs are ongoing.
