Another supervised retraction of the Demerara Harbour Bridge (DHB) will be undertaken today to allow a much needed fuel shipment to pass even as the authorities ponder ways to enable heavy trucks to cross the river.
Problems developed on Friday on the retractor spans requiring special measures to allow the opening of the bridge for marine traffic to transit.
A release yesterday from the Ministry of Public Works said that to facilitate a much-needed retraction today, truckers will not be allowed to use the DHB from 08:30hrs to 11:00hrs.
One such retraction was undertaken on Sunday after which the authorities were unsure when the next one would be.
“In the interim we want to ask that we continue at the 18 tonnes, up to this weekend, when we find an alternative, but (today) because we want to carry in some fuel, because one of the depots is running low, we’ve decided that we have to do another retraction like we did the other day but it wouldn’t last that long,” General Manager Rawlston Adams said in the release.
Meanwhile, as part of the Ministry’s plan to ensure that the DHB stays afloat, even as engineers work to repair the structure’s retractor span, Minister of Public Works, Juan Edghill has warned that speeding truck drivers will be banned from utilizing the services of the bridge.
Edghill issued the warning during a meeting with truck drivers at the DHB. His warning came just after the General Manager of the Habour Bridge appealed to truckers to adhere to the speed limit otherwise further damage can be caused to the structure.
To this, Edghill said, “If the Bridge security catches anybody speeding on the bridge, ban them from using it. If we understand…and I want you to time it, at a certain mile per hour, you’re suppose to know how long you will take, and we need to check to see who is exceeding it, and we will ban them. The truck number and everything will be out there so everybody will know that you cannot traverse the bridge.”
The meeting yesterday morning with the truck drivers was geared towards finding solutions for an alternative crossing for laden trucks.
A proposed solution discussed was the introduction of a barge system where about 15 loaded trucks will be allowed at once to transport their goods to Region Three, the release said.
Most truck drivers agreed to the barge crossing, while others were concerned about the location of the transit point. One suggestion was also made for truck drivers with a load to use the barge to transport their goods to the west side of the river, while empty trucks would use the bridge to return.
