Work on the new Manzanilla/Mayaro by-pass road is 75 per cent complete and should be open to light traffic by Tuesday. So said Works and Infrastructure Minister Dr Surujrattan Rambachan and added connectivity would finally be re-established between Sangre Grande and Mayaro after the collapse of the Manzanilla/Mayaro Road last month.
Rambachan toured the ongoing construction work along the major thoroughfare on Wednesday. He said he was pleased with the progress on both the temporary road and the permanent one. “I have been monitoring that (work) very closely, almost on a daily basis and today (Wednesday) I visited because I wanted to see how well we are on target to be able to allow the light vehicles, cars and maxi-taxis to gain access from Manzanilla to Mayaro and vice versa,” he said.
“I hope to have the remaining 25 per cent completed by weekend.” The minister said by next Tuesday the by-pass road, which has been constructed alongside the three-kilometre stretch of damaged road, will be able to allow cars and maxi-taxis. However, he warned all traffic on the by-pass road would have to exercise caution as heavy equipment would be working in the area of the collapsed portion.
Rambachan stressed that heavy trucks would not be allowed on the by-pass road because it was not a road that was built for the heavy trucks. “It is a temporary road for light vehicles to connect the communities that have been displaced as a result of what happened. Permanent works are also going on side-by-side and that is about 40 per cent completed at this stage,” the minister said.
He hoped by the end of next month work on the permanent road would be completed. He said traffic management personnel would be on site when the new by-pass road was opened to ensure that people follow the rules and regulations. Rambachan said there would also be signs advising commuters about the tonnage allowed on the road.
Lawless motorists
On a separate issue, Rambachan complained that at Cemetery Street, Claxton Bay, there are signs advising that only five tonnes were allowed on the road, however, heavy trucks were still driving there and damaging the road. “People are very indisciplined and lawless in terms of their behaviour and so in the Claxton Bay area I will be placing traffic wardens there to ensure that heavy trucks do not mash up the road there,” Rambachan said.