Minister within the Ministry of Public Works, Deodat Indar, has announced that the Sheriff-Mandela road expansion project is expected to resume following several delays.
The Sheriff-Mandela project in July 2019 – Photo Credit: (Department of Public Information)
“Some of the workers from the contractor were not in the country… Because they left and went back to China, they could not have come back because of the COVID-19 situation,” Minister Indar explained.
The workers’ absence resulted in a significant drop in the workforce, resulting in the project’s slow-moving pace. Now that the country’s main international airports are opened to chartered flights, Minister Indar remains optimistic that the project will recommence.
“We are pushing for them to restart the project,” the Public Works Minister added.
The contract for the Sheriff/Mandela Avenue road project was awarded to Sinohydro Corporation Limited in November 2017 and signed in the following month.The project will cost US$31M, which is being provided by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).
Minister within the Ministry of Public Works, Deodat Indar (Photo Credit: MPW)
Works that were slated to be undertaken were: the upgrading of the existing carriageway and resurfacing from the northern end of Sheriff Street all the way to Homestretch Avenue. The initial plan had also indicated that from that point to the Mandela Avenue-Hunter Street junction, there were going to be provisions to cater for four lanes of traffic.
The plan also stated that the completed roads would be outfitted with the requisite road safety amenities, including sidewalks, bicycle lanes, and adequate parking spaces. Bridges will also be upgraded.
Additionally, in the vicinity of East Ruimveldt and North Ruimveldt Secondary Schools, there was a plan to put a pedestrian overpass.
[Extracted and Modified from DPI]
