By Lynford Simpson, Staff Reporter
SURREY PAVING and Aggregates Ltd., contractors on the long-delayed Washington Boulevard project, has been ordered to fix sections of the road it has already completed but deemed unsatisfactory by the National Works Agency (NWA).
Failure to correct the work could result in the company forfeiting the multi-million dollar contract, Gleaner sources reported last night.
Ivan Anderson, Chief Executive Officer of the NWA, visited the site last Friday and expressed dissatisfaction with much of the work that has already been completed. He has requested that a technical audit be done to determine how widespread the problem was. The audit will be conducted by officers from the NWA.
Mr. Anderson has reportedly also written to the contractor indicating his dissatisfaction, and has issued instructions for the remedial work to take place as a matter of urgency. "Failing this the agency will have no alternative but to deduct the cost of carrying out the repairs from the contract sum and paying somebody else to do it," the source said.
The NWA has already ordered that a block wall constructed near the entrance to the Duhaney Park housing scheme be demolished, and the concrete barriers which have been deemed "insufficient" will have to be replaced. Additionally, sections of the southern carriageway which is newly paved, have been described as "bumpy and uneven" and will have to be repaved. And kerb walls constructed along the stretch of what is to be a six-lane road will have to be knocked down and replaced. All additional costs will be borne by the contractor.
And with just two months left for the work to be completed, the NWA has warned that it will not tolerate further delays on the project. According to The Gleaner sources, "the strict instructions that have been given is that they (Surrey) must complete the work at the time they said they were going to complete it and get off the Boulevard".
Efforts to contact the management of Surrey Paving last night were unsuccessful.
The $264 million contract, which was initially awarded to Surrey, stipulated that the road work should have been completed in March but was pushed back to October to accommodate the laying of a 24-inch water main between Ferry and the intersection at Molynes Road.
A number of clashes earlier this year between warring factions from the nearby communities, resulted in a number of work stoppages which forced the police to maintain a presence in the area. Heavy rains last year also caused delays.