Heavy-duty vehicles traversing the Demerara Harbour Bridge are still subject to weight restrictions and a staggered system has been implemented to ensure the bridge is at no time overburdened as repairs to a defective area are still to be completed.
Minister of Public Works, Juan Edghill yesterday related to Stabroek News that while vehicles weighing up to 18 tonnes are allowed to cross, a system has been created where one truck crosses at a time. He explained that once the truck passes a certain span of the bridge, then another is allowed to go.
According to Edghill, this is a temporary system that has been put in place until defects at spans 9 &10 are rectified.
These spans, which are also the retractor spans, Edghill explained, have deteriorated due to age and other factors. Presently, tenders for the execution of repairs to these spans are being evaluated.
“A lot of recklessness have occurred over the years, vessels speeding through during retractions, trucks overladen, excess speed by trucks, all these have been contributing factors to the deterioration and misalignment of the bridge,” the minister related.
Over the past month, the bridge has seen unscheduled closures to facilitate emergency repairs.
In late March, Edghill along with a team of engineers and officials from the Bridge Corporation inspected the damage to span nine.
A sum of $890 million was approved to purchase 20 pontoons and rehabilitate span nine of the bridge in this year’s budget.
On December 9, 2020, at 4.38 pm, a tug and barge collided with the southern section of the Demerara Harbour Bridge at its incline.
Immediately after the crash, the bridge was closed to vehicular traffic and after some interventions, the bridge was reopened at approximately 5.40 pm to light vehicular traffic.
Preliminary investigations at the time indicated that the tug and the barge were attempting to cross under the bridge before 6pm. Edghill had noted that from what his technical officers related to him, this was not supposed to be done since the current was not in their favour. He stated that as the vessels approached the bridge they lost control and crashed into spans 30, 31 and 32.
The barge, which was captained by Dale Andrews Green and loaded with bauxite, was heading to the John Fernandes wharf in Georgetown.
As a result of the crash, the bridge was shifted out of alignment. During the repairs, seven anchor chains were reconnected and a buoy was replaced.
Deonarine Sookram, owner of the tug and barge has since settled his debt with the bridge company for the damage.
A total sum of $16.3 million was paid to the DHBC to cover the cost of repairs.
And just over a year ago, a Panamanian tug crashed into the bridge, resulting in its closure for approximately 30 hours. The tug and a barge had drifted and a MARAD investigation found that they had not been anchored in the proper position.
The resulting damage caused the bridge company to carry out emergency works to reconnect eight connecting posts, five sheaves, 15 shackles, and 215 feet of anchor chains. The chains, were disconnected as a result of the impact when the tug and barge crashed into the bridge.
The figure for the repairs was close to $100 million given the extent of the damage, but when the bill was submitted to Impex Corporation Limited, which owns and operates the tug, it refused to honour its commitment to compensate for the damage. As a result, a lawsuit was filed against the corporation. The matter is still before the court.
