Days after a major accident closed it, the Demerara Harbour Bridge (DHB) reopened to traffic at 9 last night but will only be able to accommodate vehicles carrying up to 12 tonnes.
“….We will open for vehicular traffic at 9pm tonight (last night) and we will be able to carry up to 12 tonnes. So sand trucks and other cargo bearing trucks with 18 tonnes that was normally allowed, we are asking you to hold on your weight. Some of the empty trucks will be able to cross once you are no more than 12 tonnes,” Minister of Public Works, Juan Edghill told the media during a briefing at the DHB last night.
The bridge had been closed over the past two days after a fuel vessel crashed into it during the wee hours of Saturday causing major damage.
At a press conference on Saturday, Edghill had said that at about 2 am, the Tradewind Passion, a Panamanian registered vessel, was navigating the channel to offload fuel at GuyOil’s Providence Terminal. The vessel was the fifth one to transit the channel with the previous four experiencing no issue. The crash crumpled sections of the bridge and is believed to be the most serious collision in years on the 44-year-old structure.
Work on the bridge was done utilizing engineers from the DHB technical team and as well as the private sector.
Edghill last night said that while it has been reopened, works will continue on the Harbour Bridge. “By no means, all of the work that has to be done on the bridge is completed. But sufficient is done to ensure that we can get up to 12 tonnes moving,” he told the media.
While he was unable to provide a cost for the emergency works, Edghill said it would be estimated at tens of millions. “….Everything that we are doing here cost tens of millions….If not hundreds of millions but I don’t want to put a figure yet. Let the technical people having got together, putting everything together, give us the figure. I would prefer to wait on that,” he said.
Edghill further noted that the authorities will have to go into emergency mode to replace two pontoons which were badly damaged as a result of the collision. “Right now they (team) did not recognize it initially but those pontoons are badly damaged with holes. So what we have right now is pumps that are being installed to keep the water out of the pontoons. So we will have to go into emergency mode in procuring two additional pontoons,” Edghill said.
“Building a pontoon from scratch takes about 120 days. So we are going to look to see if we have to start from scratch or we are going to look to see if there are pontoons that exist that could be rehabilitated…..We are going to get it in the shortest possible time,” Edghill stated.
He admitted that fixing the Harbour Bridge was no “ordinary” task. “Getting this to where it is now was no ordinary job…..The men and women have done an extraordinary job….We were able to face just a major challenge without no panic,” he said.
BoI
Saying that the authorities are not treating the incident “lightly”, Edghill last night said that the Board of Inquiry (BoI) which was set up to investigate the circumstances surrounding the accident and make recommendations has been given seven days to wrap up the investigation.
The members have since commenced their work, he said.
“The Board of Inquiry has commenced their work….They have seven days to wind up everything and to give us a report to tell us what really happened. The recommendations to ensure that it never happens again and to establish culpability if there is anyone who is culpable for this because we not treating this very lightly,” Edghill said.
The members are Captain Joseph Lewis who is a marine officer and surveyor of ships, MARAD Legal Director Thandi McAllister, Youland Hughes, Inspector Ross from Marine Wing of GPF, Lieutenant Colonel David Shamshudeen from Coast Guard, Chief Transport and Planning Officer Patrick Thompson and a Board Member of the Guyana National Shipping Corporation, Dimitri Ally.
At the time of the incident, the vessel was being piloted through the channel by one of Guyana’s five river pilots. Noting the unusual circumstances that led to the accident, the pilot was taken into custody by the Maritime Administration Department (MARAD) and handed over to the police for drug and alcohol testing. However, the results of those tests returned negative and according to MARAD, the vessel was fully manned at the time of the crash.
Edghill said the pilot and every individual present on the fuel tanker at the time of the incident remain under investigation. “He’s under investigation. Everybody who was on the boat at the time of the accident remains on the boat. That’s all I would say,” he said.
Meanwhile the Ship Supervisor, Andy Duke, who was injured as a result of the collision, remains hospitalised.
“He may have to do surgery to his foot. We pray for good success and that he would be able to get back. The Demerara Harbour bridge management have been working with the family and we will continue to lend the necessary support,” Edghill said last night.
Minister within the Ministry of Public Works Deodat Indar had indicated on Saturday that there would have to be changes in the way navigation of the Demerara River channel is done.
He explained that the current system is not ideal and as a result there would have to be improvements.
Minister of Public Works, Juan Edghill (centre) posed with the technical team which conducted the emergency works on the Demerara Harbour Bridge over the past few days.
