Contractors have failed to fulfill assurances given earlier in April that Hunter Street, one of the main access roads from the East Bank corridor into Georgetown, would be completed by April 12, 2021.
With a new deadline, the road is now expected to be completed by April 28, 2021.
Speaking to the Newsroom by telephone on Wednesday, Mathew Vieira of Vieira 66 Logistics, the company currently carrying out the once derelict road upgrades, said the extra extension had been granted by the Ministry of Public Works due to delays caused by the rainy weather and additional features added to the contract.
Among the new tasks, Vieira 66 Logistics had to install underground pipes at the junction of Hunter Street and Front Road. This required cutting the way to lay the pipes.
The young Vieira said the Ministry of Public Works has also asked the company to connect Hunter Street with Mandela Avenue, which is also under construction.
This was not originally included in the contract awarded to Vieira 66 Logistics and should have been done, instead, by the Chinese contracting company for Sherriff Road / Mandela – Sinohydro Corporation Ltd.
“We’ll be finished by Saturday or early next week,” he said.
The drainage issue in Front Road has already been rectified and only the pavement and the appropriate Hunter Street connection to Mandela Avenue remain.
“We need at least three to four days of sun to do this … it was a lot of extra work we had to do on this contract,” said Vieira.
He could not, however, say what the new amount for the contract was.
Surrey Paving and Ideal Engineering was awarded the initial contract for $ 86.6 million in May 2019 for improving the street geometry, which included raising the road level above the drains to prevent flooding and upgrading the sidewalks. Slate was initially due for completion in December 2019.
Due to default, the contract terminated in January 2021 and was handed over to Vieira 66 Logistics. But while citizens will soon be relieved as Hunter Street is completed, the same cannot be said for the nearby Sherriff / Mandela Road.
The contracting company has already indicated that it may not be able to meet its August 2021 deadline, mainly due to obstacles caused by the rainy weather and the movement of utility infrastructure.