O’Meara restoration starts month end

Restoration work on O’Meara Road in Arima is expected to begin at the end of April. This information was shared with Arima Mayor, Lisa Morris Julian and the Arima Borough Council on Thursday during a meeting between Member of Parliament for D’abadie/O’Meara, Ancil Antoine and officials at the Water and Sewage Authority (WASA), Ministry of Works and Transport, Sinohydro Corporation Limited and the Arima Borough Corporation.

The mayor had, last week, sent a stern warning to managers of the construction work on O’Meara Road that the road needs to be fully restored or the project would be shut down. At Thursday’s meeting, the mayor and council were informed by WASA, the project manager, that the road and surroundings would be restored to its original conditions once the damage can be directly attributed to the contractor’s pipe-laying project, as stated by the contract.

WASA projected that the new date for completion of the pipe-laying work on O’Meara Road is at the end of April. After which, WASA said, permanent restoration of the road would begin.

When asked by the Mayor if the entire road would be restored, WASA officials responded that only the entire southbound lane from Nutones Boulevard (heading north) to just before Leotaud Lands would be resurfaced.

Deputy Mayor Cagney Casimire, however urged both WASA and the contractor, Sinohydro Corporation Limited, to exercise their Corporate Social Responsibility to the inconvenienced communities by resurfacing the entire road. Additionally, Mayor Morris-Julian has requested assistance from the Ministry of Works and Transport to supervise the restoration work which is to be done by WASA.

To assess the total damage which was done to O’Meara Road, the Arima Borough Council has arranged for a site visit with MP Antoine, WASA and the Ministry of Works and Transport next Friday.