KINGSTON - Maintenance to critical sections of the Linden/Lethem road has commenced with works to be completed by mid-September. The work is intended to cut travel time by four hours.
Currently, it takes approximately 16 hours to commute to Lethem from Georgetown using a minibus.
The critical sections will be resurfaced with lateritic material and compacted.
The contractors employed for this project, which is being executed in phases, are: Troy Resources; Omai Gold Mines (OGM); Demerara Timbers Limited (DTL); Mekdeci Machinery and Construction (MMC) and Vevakanand Dalip Enterprise (DALIP).
Below is a breakdown of the contractual works:
Contractor
Length of road (miles)
Date of commencement
Troy Resources
0 – 26
August 1
Omai Gold Mines
26-65
August 11
DTL
65 – 84
MMC
84 – 135
135 – 200
DALIP
242 - 276
August 12
Meanwhile, Minister Benn stated that for sustainable works to be carried out on the road – the weather had to improve. “Any works before this would have been lost to the rains.”
He added that the Ministry intends to establish toll stations on the critical hinterland roads to support the year-round maintenance efforts required and to limit abuse of the road from the aspect of load carriage and safety. It is also proposed to establish a basic toll with escalation for overloading and wet passage conditions.
The Linden/Lethem road is one of the projects that falls under the hinterland road rehabilitation programme. For 2014, the Ministry has set aside GY$1.08B to facilitate repair roads countrywide.
