Revetment works on the river defence along the New Hope Public Road, on the East Bank Demerara, are nearing completion but residents are worried over the use of sand to backfill the area.
The Demerara River had been eroding the public road passing through the community for some time and physical works commenced at the site in November last year. Two construction companies had been carrying out works at the site; Samaroo Investment is undertaking revetment works to the tune of $300 million at the site, while another company will rehabilitate the roadway when the revetment is completed.
Minister of Transport and Hydraulics Robeson Benn told this newspaper last weekend that the work in the area is close to being completed but he could not give a timeline. He directed this newspaper to Chief River and Sea Defence Officer Geoffrey Vaughn but attempts to obtain a comment from him were futile.
The contractor was expected to complete the work last month but had faced difficulties in sourcing steel plates to construct the revetment during the initial phase of the project.
Meanwhile, New Hope residents told Stabroek News during recent visits to the area that while they were happy that the revetment is being built to protect the road, the infrastructure may collapse in time since the sand being used to backfill the site may seep through the structure when it begins to corrode. An official at the Works Ministry said, however, that the area will be capped with earth in order to facilitate vegetation. He said too that the type of work being done had proven effective in other parts of the country.
New Hope resident Totti Saygon told this newspaper over the weekend that while the work being done may appear strong enough to prevent the river from eroding the area, the placement of sand to reinforce the revetment may prove counter productive. He said that sheet piles were placed at the area several years ago and over time they slipped into the river.
“It needs double reinforcement and if they had put earth there it would have proved to be better to keep the revetment in place,” Saygon said. The man stated that as time passes, the currents of the river will continue to place pressure on the structure. According to him, the result will be the sand being forced down under the structure and the water may seep through the structure when it begins to corrode.
Persons in the community also said that the work being undertaken was far from satisfactory. They claimed that the contractor used old pieces of the revetment at the site to reinforce the current structure.
A resident noted that similar work was undertaken further north along the river at Craig and in that instance the contractor used earth to backfill the site. “At Craig, they used earth and even though it took them a while, at least they went somewhere and found earth. Here, they using sand and my question is—did they think about what they doing before filling in sand?” a man asked.
He felt that the contractor was rushing to meet the deadlines while carrying out substandard works to the area.
An employee of the company told this newspaper yesterday that the project deadline may be extended to facilitate further work. However, he was unsure what the additional work would entail.
