Hunter St. upgrade ahead of schedule

Minister of Public Works, Hon. Bishop Juan Edghill

– Min Edghill satisfied with pace of work

Rehabilitative works on Hunter Street, Albouystown, are ahead of schedule after restarting a little over a month ago.

During a site visit on Saturday, Minister of Public Works, Hon. Bishop Juan Edghill expressed his satisfaction with the pace of work on the project.

“What I’m seeing is a great improvement, and what has been a response to the cries and the complaints that came from the community since I assume office, practically nothing was here…so I’m happy that work is moving apace,” he said.

Minister Edghill noted that the road is “a very important link” in alleviating the traffic congestion getting onto and off the East Bank corridor. The project complements the four-lane widening of the Sheriff Street-Mandela Road.

The initial $86.6 million contract was awarded to Surrey Paving and Ideal Engineering in May 2019 and was scheduled to conclude in December 2019. However, the contract was terminated after the contractor received several extensions, but no work was done. The contract was then awarded to Vieira 66 Logistics in December 2020 to complete the job.

Speaking to DPI, Vieira 66 Logistics owner Mr. Mark Vieira said that the work is expected to be completed ahead of schedule despite some delays.

“Right now, we are ahead of schedule; we’re going to be finished at least a month and a half or two months before the contract must be finished… We’re going to continue working late at night,” the contractor said.

Vieira 66 Logistics owner Mark Vieira

He disclosed that while the company is awaiting some materials, work will continue on a 24-hour basis.

The Public Works Minister commended the contractor’s efforts to honour the agreement to complete the works within the stipulated timeframe. He urged other contractors to get into the culture of delivering on time.

“We will have a 2021 budget, and in a short time, new projects will come out as a result of that budget, so we want to see all the 2020 projects that have been rolled over into 2021 completed. We want to see quality work value for money, excellence and while work has been undertaken, the suffering of the citizens must be minimised,” he said. Since assuming office, the PPP/C Government has maintained a strict zero-tolerance policy for defaulting contractors.