Residents along the Grove/ Diamond Public Road continue to complain about the deplorable state of the road and are calling on the authorities to intervene.
The Grove/Diamond Public Road is a particularly busy stretch of road that forms part of the East Bank of Demerara (EBD) corridor, while serving as the Grove village main road
For many years the deplorable condition of the roadway has been a source of discomfort for both commuters and villagers alike.
Stabroek News visited the area yesterday and saw that several sections of the road had sunk and showed other deformities. Com-pounding the problem was the sand left over from construction which was blowing in the wind.
As far as the residents are concerned, the condition of the road remains unacceptable and should be urgently addressed. One villager who asked to remain anonymous blamed the large heavily-laden sand trucks passing through from the sand pits for damaging the road. The resident said that the damage starts off small but quickly worsens as the heavy weight passes over it every day.
According to the resident, government officials have indicated that the road currently being constructed aback of Grove/ Diamond will be prioritised ahead of the Grove/ Diamond Public Road.
However, the resident argued that the main road should have been looked at before any other road.
“I think they should have looked after the main access road.”
Another resident posited, “The road is a deplorable state and at night time when you lay down you only hear loud noise. The holes are really a problem.”
They further noted that the road does not last long when it is repaired. “Soon as they repair it breaks back. Yes, after a certain time. It doesn’t last. We need improvement.”
Minister of Public Works, Juan Edghill, noted that the government continues to push for the bypass that will fix the Grove road issues and that the matter is already being addressed.
“This is a matter that has been addressed before. We are making a bypass road with bridges so that we can adequately address the Grove Public Road Issue. We went out publicly and said we are making the bypass road moving from Diamond to Grove to come out at Busby Dam so that we could have access to fix the Grove public road. We have completed the drains and so on”, he said.
The first phase of this project to fix the Grove congestion, involves the construction of concrete drains at Grove, while the second deals with the widening of Back Street, Diamond; Third Avenue, Diamond; and First Bridge, New Grove.
Other phases include the building and widening of bridges to link New Grove to Kaneville and Grove to Good Success.
Meanwhile, the bridge at Kaneville, the Kaneville Main Access Road, Back Street, Grove; 5th Cross Street; and Third Street, will all be rehabilitated and widened. The second bridge linking Grove to Good Success, the Good Success Sideline Dam, will also be widened and rehabilitated. These works are scheduled to be completed by August through public funding.
These projects are funded by the Inter-American Development Bank’s (IDB) US$100 million loan under the Support Climate Resilient Infrastructure Development programme which will see road construction from Diamond/Grove to Timehri.
