Users of the Linden/Lethem trail have expressed concern about the state of the road and they are calling on the authorities for an upgrade before the rains begin.
The trail had been a bugbear for road users—mainly minibus drivers and passengers who traverse the roadway daily to and from the border community.
According to officials at the Intraserv Bus Service, the company had been calling on the Public Works Ministry to ensure that the road is adequately upgraded and maintained to avoid a situation like last year, when heavy rainfall restricted travel along sections of the trail.
According to the official, several areas along the trail, especially parts of the roadway south of the Kurupukari Crossing, where many potholes have been expanding daily, had been creating difficulties for drivers. It was noted that the Work Services Group (WSG) within the Works Ministry has been kept informed almost monthly of the numerous potholes as well as the rising water levels along sections of the road. The official noted too that the authorities needed to improve the condition of the road to the state where it would become an all weather road, given the difficulty road users usually encounter during the rainy season.
An official at another bus company that operates a tour service noted that the use of heavy machinery by an oil company, which is drilling for oil in the region, has had a “negative” impact on the roadway. Other road users expressed similar sentiments.
Attempts by Stabroek News to obtain a comment from officials at the WSG have proved futile and when contacted recently Region 9 Chairman Clarindo Lucas’ secretary noted that he was in the fields.
According to a minibus operator, the trail is presently in a “fairly” good shape but there are several areas which could have been looked after since good weather had been prevailing along the interior road over the past four to five months. He said that since the installation of two culverts along the Hunt Oil Stretch, located between Annai and Lethem, no further works were undertaken to ensure that the road is “weather ready.”
It was, however, noted that a section of the roadway, close to an area known as “Corkwood,” had been maintained continuously by the Mekdeci Mining Company (MMC).
In a letter published in this newspaper recently, contributor Gloria Lye described her recent trip along the roadway as a nightmare. She noted that “the trail has deteriorated a lot. A trip that previously took ten hours, instead took fourteen.” She noted too that “All who are coming for the rodeo would do well to find out beforehand if the road has been graded, potholes filled, and the ‘scrubbing board’ at Pirara properly levelled. If there is rain before Easter and no repairs are done, there will be even more horrors for drivers.”
Lye said that she was enthused last year when former Brazilian President Lula announced that money was available from the Brazilian government to pave the road. She noted that the offer was a tremendous opportunity for trade, tourism and investment both ways.
She questioned, “why so many feasibility surveys of the trail? When will a decision about paving it be finally made?”
The trail, which is seen as a vital economic link between Guyana and Brazil, had been in a virtually impassable state for close to five months from June last year as heavy rains flooded sections of the low–lying areas close to the road along the Hunt Oil section.
The Corkwood area was also difficult to navigate and minibus operators and other road users spent more than 20 hours on what would have been a normal 12 to 15 hour journey.
In September last year, a few weeks after sections of the road had become impassable following torrential rainfall in the region, Lucas had said that Brazil’s Undersecretary-General for South and Central America and the Caribbean Antonio Jose Ferreira Simoes paid a courtesy call on him and it was during their interactions that he asked whether the Ambassador would be able to convince his government to provide assistance for paving the road.
He said the Ambassador noted that the Brazilian government had been looking at paving the road. Lucas noted then that unless the road was paved, the anticipated development of the business community at Lethem would take some time to expand.
The Brazilians had submitted a proposal to President Bharrat Jagdeo mid last year for “his consideration,” including an outline of how some funding could be secured for the road. Jagdeo later met several business persons who operate between the coastland and Lethem to discuss the impact the state of the road had on their operations.
The Brazilians’ offer was also discussed at the meeting, a source said.
Ambassador Simoes, during his one-day visit last year, labelled the road a “priority” in Guyana-Brazil relations.
