Minister of Public Works, Juan Edghill, is notifying the general public of the closure of the Demerara Harbour Bridge for three days in the last week of July, a release yesterday from the ministry stated.
It informed that the closure is scheduled to begin from 11:59 pm on Monday, July 24, to 11:59 pm on Thursday July 27. The closure serves to facilitate the replacement of the number nine span on the bridge.
It was pointed out that this notice was also being provided one month ahead of schedule to allow persons and businesses to make the requisite changes where necessary. Further, it is advised that persons travelling out of the country at the time of the closure, those with doctors’ appointments and other important engagements, etcetera, make note of these changes.
The Minister explained that the choice of the aforementioned period was made based on advice from the technical staff at the Demerara Harbour Bridge Corporation. This specific period, he added, is based on the tide. While the logistics for this replacement were also meticulously planned during the closure of the school term, to ensure a smooth transition, and as little inconvenience to the public as possible.
The significance of this replacement, Edghill assured, is not lost on the government and as such it is committed to seeing this project through. According to the release, the new retractor which is 170 feet long and 40 feet wide and valued at $1.2 billion, will result in a much smoother retraction and will also enable wider vessels to pass through the channel.
The Minister therefore made an appeal to commuters and businesses for their understanding and support during these three days of closure of the bridge, which is unavoidable as the replacement of span nine cannot be done while traffic is flowing.
The release reminded that last year September, span number nine was damaged when the Panamanian-flagged vessel, MV Tradewinds Passion, crashed into the bridge during a retraction period and rendered the bridge inoperable for several days. Since then, that damaged section of the bridge had to be repaired several times, while plans were being made to replace the unit altogether.
A local company, Industrial Fabrications Inc (InFab), conducted the repairs which it completed in late 2022. In May this year, when the time and tide were “perfect,” span number nine was transported from the dockyard to the bridge for installation, the release added.
