– cites worsening road conditionsBy Leonard GildarieAs heavy rains continue in the hinterland, a major bus company has announced its decision to suspend the Georgetown/Lethem service citing the deplorable conditions of the road.According to IntraServ, in notices in the daily newspaper yesterday, the conditions of the roadway have worsened to the point where the company is now forced to cease its services “until further notice”.With an increasing trade with Brazil, via Lethem,China Jerseys, this latest disruption would strike another blow to economic activities for those dependent on the road.Yesterday, minibus operators who traverse the area said that while they are able to move, the going is slow,NFL Jerseys China, with many parts of the road in a “terrible state”.The operators of this truck were forced to use planks and other materials to make it across this “double bridge” at 40 Miles, north of Kurupukari, on the Georgetown/Lethem road.A problematic “double-bridge” located about 40 miles north of Kurupukari, is unsafe for the 47-seater buses operated by IntraServ, an official who asked to remain anonymous, said yesterday.While lighter vehicles are crossing the bridge,wholesale nfl jerseys, some of the trucks and bigger buses are forced to use pieces of planks and other materials to get across. However, the situation has now become unsafe for the bigger vehicles and IntraServ said it was forced to make an “unfortunate” decision to suspend the service.Normally, in dry conditions, the company makes six return trips weekly from Lethem.A journey that would take up to 12 hours would now take as much as 16-18 hours.“There are big holes and flash flooding and the bridge has really deteriorated,” the IntraServ official said.That particular stretch of the Georgetown/Lethem road is said to be maintained by the Demerara Timbers Limited (DTL).Yesterday, an engineer of Mekdeci Machinery and Construction Inc. (MMC), which also has contracts from the government to maintain sections of the road, said that they are monitoring the situation on the road, but while there is “lots of water”, there are no major problems, except at the bridge in question.Several sections of the road,NFL Jerseys Wholesale, according to photographs taken last Friday, were under water.Almost two weeks ago, the roadway had to be closed after rains washed away sections.Minister of Public Works, Robeson Benn, and other officials, had blamed the torrential rains in the interior for the damaged sections of the Mabura Road.Rickford Lowe, Head of the Works Services, had disclosed that following heavy rains earlier this month,Cheap Jerseys NFL, a culvert at 42 miles on the Linden-Lethem road collapsed, rendering that section of the road impassable. He said, too, that some erosion at 40 Miles created some difficulty for motorists due to erosion of the roadway. Lowe said that when the Ministry learnt of the damaged sections to the road, immediate steps were taken to have repairs done.“In this regard the section at 40 Miles has been fully rehabilitated and the works commenced at 42 miles where pipe culverts of increased capacity will be used.”Benn said that there were ongoing road works at different sections prior to the rains but had to be halted because the rains would hinder any proper road works.Benn contended that suggestions that an all-weather road be built would be costly. It would cost some US$250M and Guyana simply could not afford that. He said that he was satisfied with the level of work being done in light of the circumstances. Lowe told media operatives that substantial sums are being spent annually on the maintenance of the road.He said that expenditure in 2009 amounted to some $244.4M and the allocation for 2010 is $300M.“Repairs are ongoing to bridges along the corridor and tenders for further repairs to bridges, amounting to over $100M, are being advertised…Inclement weather conditions over the past two months have, however, curtailed road maintenance works.”In seeking to explain the gravity of the situation, Benn had told media operatives that what is being tacked is two-fold in that there is a significantly high spring tide coupled with the heavy rainfall as a result of an adverse weather system which has flooded a large section of the interior.He explained that the roads are covered under several feet of water in some areas and the roads are laterite which makes it susceptible to the erosion.“You could go and see for yourselves….there is flash flooding coming down from the creeks…There is high water… There is extreme level of waters at culverted sections.” He said, “We are going through an extreme event at the moment and it is a challenge that we hav