Sinanan tells motorists: Comply with police during SoE

COMMUTERS can go about their business as usual as public transportation will not be affected by the state of emergency which was declared on December 30.

However, Minister of Works and Transport Rohan Sinanan is urging drivers to comply with instructions from police who under the SoE have additional powers for stop and search exercises.

"We should all obey the laws and if there's a roadblock, I think it is in everybody's interest to ensure that whatever we have to do as citizens, we do that.

"If we don't co-operate with law enforcement, we'd just continue to complain. There would always be some level of inconvenience but once it's for the better good, we should all be part of that."

Sinanan was speaking to reporters after commissioning a bridge along the Mayaro Guayaguayare Road on December 30. He said construction began eight months ago and the bridge was completed within the stipulated time frame and within the budget of $7.8 million. It was built by General Earth Movers Ltd.

He said around 65 bridges have been built or were completed over the last year.

"The idea is to ensure that all the bridges in Trinidad, on a phased basis, will be taken care of. Some of the bridges we have in Trinidad are about 100-years-old."

Sinanan said while some may believe the area was too remote for such an investment, it was necessary to support the petrochemical industry in Galeota Point.

Sinanan also visited Point Radix where work was being done to combat coastal erosion.

At the site, a wall and a revetment drain were constructed to help reclaim the land which the sea had swallowed, taking parts of the roadway. Project engineer Rina Chaitram said the $26 million work began in November 2023 and was done in two phases, the first at the Point Radix bay, and the other closer to the southern end of the Manzanilla coastline.

Sinanan said phase one was completed with road rehabilitation set to begin while the second phase is around 50 per cent complete.

Mayaro North councillor Ryan Stewart said the work would benefit some 1,500 people, especially those with property further down the street.

Sinanan said one of the ministry's major projects for 2025 would be a connector road that will allow motorists to travel southward from Trincity and exit on to the Uriah Butler Highway at the Caroni overpass.

"That would ease up a lot of traffic even coming from the south because if you're coming to go to the airport, you'd have a much more comfortable road that you don't have to come to Grand Bazaar and then drive up the highway."

He added: "There's a bottle-neck now at Grand Bazaar. If everybody going to the east or everybody going to the north, you have to go down to Grand Bazaar. What we're trying to do is to spread the traffic around."

He said the project would be done on a phased basis and will tie in to existing, upgraded road infrastructure which runs in front of the Licensing Office in Caroni.

Sinanan could give no completion date for the Solomon Hochoy Highway widening project in Chaguanas. The project was first delayed in August after the contractor ran into quality assurance issues. The project was expected to be completed by the end of last year but according to Sinanan, around 21 days were lost due to rain. However, he said if the weather holds up, work should be completed early this year.

"The director of PURE (Programme For Upgrading Roads Efficiency Unit) has given me the assurance that once the weather continues in a way that would allow people to work, we should, within a month or so, see significant progress."