DESPITE SOME HEALTH and safety concerns, the Constitution River project is going well.

However, some "variation" work has pushed back the finishing date of the project, which began in October 2006, to around March 2009.

Phase 1 of the project was tentatively set to be completed around last October. It involved a clean-up of the river, building a modern footbridge, and improving facilities for vendors.

"What we are concerned about is the mud which is contaminated due to runoff and sewage system water," said Jivan Rambaran, the project's health, safety and environment co-ordinator, during a tour of the site on Thursday. "We are testing it and controlling it by using [fresh water from] the ocean tides to purge it."

Asked what "variation" work was, he described it as work added on to that specified in the original contract.

Rambaran also mentioned the initial difficulty faced when dealing with health and safety regulations, as he said some of the workers seemed to be unaware of the regulations and tended to take health and safety for granted.

He said some questioned why they had to be concerned about safety if there was a coordinator on site, but he added that although his role was to coordinate and enforce, it was still up to each worker to protect himself.

Rambaran said they were tiling and placing electrical wiring and pipes along the walkways leading to and from the Charles Duncan O'Neal Bridge. (CA)