The first two elevators are being installed at the Providence pedestrian overpass, East Bank Demerara thereby allowing access for disabled people, senior citizens and pregnant women.
Trinidad Company, RBP Lifts Limited is installing the elevators with RM Engineering overseeing the process. All five pedestrian overpasses at Eccles, Houston, Peters Hall, Providence and Diamond will have an elevator on each side of the road. The works at Providence began on June 11 and are expected to be completed in about a week. The remaining installations are expected to be completed by August.
Acting Project Manager for Donor Programme at the Ministry of Public Infrastructure, Mark Green told the Department of Public Information (DPI) that the elevators have a one-year warranty and a quarterly maintenance system in place.
“The elevators have a screw drive system which is a simplified and more robust system, so there is no cable like with the normal elevators. They are also built for the outdoor environment; they have a canopy to shade them, are open with glazed glass and have LED lighting,” Green explained. An emergency response system for emergencies during power outages is also in place.
The cost for supply and installation of each elevator is US$61,000 or $12.8M Guyana dollars. Each elevator has a maximum capacity of 400kg or can accommodate about five people. Green stressed that the initiative is critical to bolstering road safety along the East Bank of Demerara – one of the busiest thoroughfares in Guyana.
By: Ranetta La Fleur.
