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NEW AMSTERDAM, BERBICE – The race against time is on for the completion of the Berbice River Bridge Access Road from Crab Island to Palmyra.The team making its way to the bridgeThe Berbice River Bridge is scheduled to be commissioned at 13:00 hours tomorrow.The access road on the Crab Island end in Region Six is still incomplete,Tim Brown Raiders Jersey, and the reality looks grim and rests heavily on weather conditions.On Sunday, Public Works Minister Robeson Benn and his team — Region Six Chairman Zulfikar Mustapha,Chris Doleman Vikings Jersey, Community Development Officer Faizal Jaffarally, Regional Vice Chairman Dennis Deroop and other officials — visited the site.Some sections are fully asphalted while smaller portions are slushy. A lot more work is to be done, and the big question would be: Is there enough time?Minister Robeson Benn, with a somewhat worried look on his face, said that he is optimistic the job will be completed in time for Tuesday.“I want to remain optimistic. Of course,Wayne Chrebet Jets Jersey, I have no control of the weather…if we work diligently at it, we should achieve the objective.”He made several trips to the location over the weekend to ensure that everything is in place for the opening.Minister Benn said that the weather conditions not only disrupted the construction schedule, but the supply of materials also.A completed section of the access roadThis resulted in some modifications being done to allow for the movement of light traffic — cars and minibuses — by Tuesday, in the first instance.The minister lamented that the logistics for construction was a complicated one.The stone was brought from the Bartica area via the Essequibo, Demerara and Berbice Rivers into the Canje River, where it was deposited. This depended heavily on tidal conditions.The sand came from the Timehri location in sufficient quantities,Rocky Bleier Steelers Jersey, but there were disruptions. One operator lost a barge-load of sand.On the Corentyne Coast, rainfall recorded between Friday evening and Saturday was between 60 and 130 millimetres.Heavy rainfall between Saturday night and Sunday morning was evident from the amount of water accumulated on sections of the access road. The current implication of water lodging on the surface of the roadway is that it becomes slushy, and affects the ability to compact and shape the surface to the technical specifications.Not only must the roadway be completed, but full-width plates are to be placed from the bridge to the beginning of the roadway, and the level of the road must be raised to the level of the bridge.This would call for employees working 24 hours daily between Sunday and Tuesday. But when the team visited yesterday after lunch, only a handful of workmen were on the job site.Twiab Khan, who is the Project Manager, explained that his team was waiting for materials to proceed, and as such there was no work for the employees.According to him,George Blanda Raiders Jersey, the materials were stockpiled in Canje and could only be transported by barge, and not on the access road, due to the rainfall. The shipment was expected at midnight on Sunday, based on the high tide. This he described as a slow and costly exercise. “But that is all we can do.”Meanwhile, the Region Six Administration had offered to provide additional workers to assist in draining the excess water that was lodged in the slushy parts,Sam Mills Saints Jersey, but the Project Manager said that he had enough manpower, and moreso,Darrell Green Redskins Jersey, this final leg of the work was more mechanized.Region Six Chairman Zulfikar Mustapha said that the US$8.7 million project was executed by DIPCON and was a very challenging one,Tony Gonzalez Falcons Jersey, given the persistent rainfall and the fact that the area was a swampland.According to Mr. Mustapha, large quantities and several layers of materials,Karl Mecklenburg Broncos Jersey, such as sand and ‘crusher-run,’ had to be applied during the period.Work began on the eastern side at the end of 2006. The Berbice River Bridge Access Road is 1.6 kilometres long from Crab Island to Palmyra Village.It is funded by the Government of Guyana with support of a loan from the Inter-American Development Bank. The executing agency is the Ministry of Public Works and Communication, Work Service Group.