Vehicle owners along the Essequibo Coast are complaining about the state of some of the wooden bridges linking villages, some of which have spike nails exposed and pose a danger not only to vehicles but also to cyclists and motorcyclists, especially at night.
One minibus owner said the bridges are destroying vehicle tyres, which are very expensive to replace.
He said too that some of these bridges have no rail and this is very dangerous to pedestrians who traverse the Essequibo Coast road.
Stabroek News observed the dilapidated state of the bridge at Hampton Court, which links that village with Devonshire Castle. Two other bridges that are vastly in need of repair are one between Better Success and Plantation Andrews and another between Better Hope and La Resource.
As regards the bridge between Better Success and Plantation Andrews, one resident said that over two years ago there was an accident and one of the rails was partly destroyed. To date it has not been replaced. She added that “when vehicles travel to and from, the bridge will keep a banging sound that disturbs me at night. We are calling on the relevant authorities to look into this matter and see what best they can do about these bridges.
One hire car owner and driver said, “I have to pick place on these bridge when I drive”.
When Stabroek News contacted Regional Executive Officer Sunil Singh he claimed that contracts to repair two of the bridges were awarded through the Ministry of Public Works.
However, he added, no contract documents were sent to his office as yet. Several attempts to contact Minister Robeson Benn for a comment were unsuccessful.
Singh also said that the other bridges will be repaired by the regional administration and work on them is yet to start. He did not give a time by when the repairs would start.
