The Ministry of Public Infrastructure, (MoPI) is planning the upgrade
and extension of the railway embankment road from Annandale to Hope,
on the East Coast of Demerara.
In an exclusive interview with the Department of Public Information
(DPI) Minister of Public Infrastructure, David Patterson explained
that to better manage traffic from Annandale to Belfield, it is being
considered.
“I have presented an alternative plan to the Cabinet, with the
alignment, budget and options and they are mulling it, I have to make
a presentation. We have to upgrade the embankment road from Annandale
to join back the main road at Belfield. So, you’ll have two lanes;
almost a loop. The traffic will be going dual carriageway up to
Annandale and when you’re coming down there will be a diversion out of
Annandale at the intersection,” Minister Patterson explained.
This new project is necessary to further ease traffic congestion
between Annandale and Belfield, where the East Coast Demerara Road
Widening and Improvement Project ends.
The East Coast Road Project was conceptualized by the previous
administration in 2011. The contract was for the widening of the
Better Hope to Annandale road, to four lanes. Thereafter, a two-lane
upgrade to Belfield using Asphaltic Concrete surface.
Minister Patterson further explained that the current four-lane
widening project did not end at Belfield due to encumbrances rather
than the cost of the project. He pointed out that between Annandale
and Belfield there are three burial grounds, along with homes and
other buildings.
“Those works would have been more extensive and cause more discomforts
to the residents,” he explained.
The extension from Good Hope on the Railway Embankment to Hope,
connecting back to the main road, is a better alternative, the
minister said.
“The villages further on from Annandale are older villages so they are
closer. All the houses are closer to the main road, along with their
cemeteries, but we have noted that another alternative road is
critical.”
Additionally, the ministry is seeking funding in 2019 to upgrade the
stretch of road from Hope to Rosignol to four lanes. There is adequate
space for the upgrade and the project is a next priority for the
ministry as the design for the upgrade shortly will commence soon.
Meanwhile, the East Coast Demerara Road Widening and Improvement
Project is on schedule, with the contractor preparing to commence
paving a kilometre a day.
The dusty sections will be first targeted and it is anticipated that
at the end of the year the dual carriageway section will be completed.
When completed, the four-lane section will have a median equipped with
street lights. Sidewalks will be built alongside populated villages;
seven bridges and twelve culverts will be widened and 11 traffic
signals installed at busy intersections along the roadway.
The road’s surface will be finished with approximately 8-inches of
asphaltic concrete with necessary road safety features including
warning signs, road markings and pedestrian crossings.
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