Work on bad Bartica/Issano stretch 25% completed 

20140725sand roadThe emergency work to fix a one-mile stretch of the Bartica/Isano road, Region Seven (Cuyuni/Mazaruni) is 25 percent completed, the Ministry of Public Works said yesterday.

In recent months, residents of Bartica have complained bitterly about the road and there have been protests.

On Thursday, Lawrence Mentis, the engineer overseeing the project; Naeem Mohamed, the Ministry’s hinterland engineer and Lloyd Rollins, Maintenance Supervisor, inspected the progress of the project which started on July 14, 2014, a release from the Ministry said.

Mentis said that $25M approved in the Ministry’s 2014 budget is being utilized to carry out the rehabilitation works. The Force Account Unit within the Ministry is executing the project.

While the road is five miles long, the most impassable section is being rehabilitated with a part concrete/asphalt and part coal mix. The Ministry is seeking funding from Central Government to repair other sections of the heavily trafficked road, the release said.

Keith Blair Chairman of the United Minibus Union, Bartica Branch, was quoted by the release as being satisfied with the project.

“The progress is encouraging. I speak for myself and the community and we are very happy with what is going on,” Blair was reported as saying.