The Berbice Bridge is now operating normally after a malfunction on Friday left commuters stranded on both sides for around five hours.
In a statement yesterday explaining the problem, the Berbice Bridge Company Incorporated (BBCI) said on Friday, at approximately 14:35 hours after retracting without any problems for three vessels to pass, it was found that the controller on the western side that closes the bridge was faulty. This, it said, resulted in the delay in closing the retractor while BBCI’s engineers and technicians replaced the unit that was not working.
The company said that the western retractor span was then successfully closed at approximately 21:35 hrs. The bridge was reopened to vehicular traffic at 21:45 hrs and all vehicles were given free transit until midnight, Friday 21st November.
The BBCI said that the company’s engineers and technicians worked industriously on 22nd November to repair and reinstall the controller. Numerous tests were then conducted on the entire control system.
After several test runs, the problem was fixed and the bridge is now operating normally.
Noting that it had never experienced a breakdown which necessitated closure in its near six-year history, the BBCI said the bridge was built with the latest state-of-the-art technology and the company was proud that its engineers and technicians were able to trouble-shoot and solve the problem without having to mobilise help from the builders, Bosch Rexroth and Mabey and Johnson or any other source.
BBCI apologized for the inconvenience caused to commuters.
