The Government of Guyana, in a bid to reduce rehabilitation costs attached to the road east of the University of Guyana, will be using geotextile material. But former Public Infrastructure Minister, David Patterson has reservations.
During a recent inspection of the $275,506,000 project, Minister of Public Works, Bishop Juan Edghill said geotextile fabric will be used to enhance the roadwork. He said the technology is needed to protect the road’s structure, which has undergone numerous repairs.
“The only way to keep this road without the geotextile is to do revetment on both sides of the road and to do revetment, the cost is astronomical,” the Minister was quoted by the Department of Public Information (DPI) as saying.
Following the visit, Patterson took to Facebook expressing his displeasure. He said that the Minister – his successor – is misinformed.
“While geotextile material will assist in preventing soil erosion, it will not stop the root cause that continues to plague this particular roadway. The UG access road was originally an earthen dam, accessed by individuals, which was paved over to allow for the passage of vehicular traffic. Despite being resurfaced on several occasions, the road is affected by the movement of the earth as the weight of traffic causes the soil to move outwards towards the trenches on both sides,” Patterson said.
He added that the geotextile materials will not prevent the soil from moving outwards over time.
“This is a very temporary solution. Like everything that the PPP does, they have always gone for the “slam, bam, thank you damm” option.
He continued, “While we are all grateful for the works being done on this road, any engineering student will tell you that it will fail within 2 years of completion, and of course, the PPP will blame everyone else except their lack of vision and willingness to use and listen to experts who they perceive did not vote for them.”
