by Michele Catahay

Guam - Sinajana residents say they're frustrated with delay in road construction projects outside the village. Some say it's poor planning on the part of the Department of Public Works.

Cynthia Eclavea lives in Agana Springs and travels through Route 4 every day and says she experiences heavy traffic in the early morning and afternoon. "For me, coming out in the morning going to work. I come out and it takes me 15 minutes just to cut through the traffic and get on to the main road. Coming out of the village, if you're not aware that the exit is closed turning right from the village from 6 to about 9am, and then 3 to 6:30pm, it's a disadvantage to go from the village all the way to Hagatna," she told KUAM News.

Last week, DPW said residents can expect unforeseen delays at the Barrigada tri-intersection, the Northern Signalization Project, Route 2 and Route 4. DPW director Andy Leon Guerrero explained how his agency needs to get it right or risk losing tens of millions of funding. "The federal guidelines that pertain to all road projects are very strict. In order for us to get reimbursed or to actually pay out to the contractors' guidelines must be met. If they are not met federal highways will not pay for it," he said.

In Sinajana, the asphalt overlay put in by Hawaiian Rock doesn't meet compliance. But Leon Guerrero says it's up to the contractor to fix it. In the meantime, Eclavea questions why DPW hadn't detected the issue at the very beginning. "In the beginning, I think the testing of the asphalt should be done from the start. There's no reason, our lives are put in danger from all that. And not knowing," he shared. "I mean, it's something that we have to deal with because they're not going to put asphalt on it. We're just going to have to wait until it's done."

Eclavea says DPW failed to plan these road construction projects correctly. She says it's frustrating to know that the community has been ill informed, adding, "They need to sit down with the village mayors and let the mayors know what's happening and they really need to study it. I think they need to get maybe better engineers or somebody is more professional in this area."

With the military buildup set to take place in the years ahead, Eclavea hopes for future projects to be planned correctly.