The three-day closure of the Demerara Harbour Bridge (DHB) is expected to be “less stressful” following a consultation yesterday with stakeholders, according to the Minister of Public Works, Juan Edghill and water taxis will operate all day during the period.
The DHB is expected to be closed for three days from July 25 to 27 for the replacement of Span Nine which has been deteriorating over time and a raft of measures has been drawn up including an edict that there will be no increase in fares.
In order to make the process for commuters less stressful, the Minister of Public Works, the DHB, the Maritime Administration Department, the Guyana Police Force, the Coast Guard, and other relevant agencies yesterday hosted a public consultation on the closure.
This was deemed as step two, following the public announcement of the closure, just about a month ago.
Edghill stated that the exercise serves to ensure that the process is less stressful during the interruption.
“We anticipate that there will be some amount of interruption but there will be a minimum interruption to commerce, to trade, to businesses, one of the good things; is that school will be out during this period, and children commuting to school and back home is one factor that is already been taken care of. And, perhaps, we can hear from you, suggestions and things that we can do to make this period less stressful, I can’t say stress-free because it’s going to be a period of stress for me and all these people here racing against the clock to make sure we deliver that with three-day.”
Edghill said that it is expected to be less stressful since the replacement of the span is one that the authorities were prepared for. “This one planned, anticipated and hopefully coming out of this consultation will be one that is adequately prepared for so that we can be able to get things done.”
Ravi Ramcharitar
Work on Span nine was expected to take place since last year, with Infab as the contractor. The proposed time then was seven days, but both the DHB and the Ministry of Public Works rejected that time frame.
The original span which was installed some 44 years ago was 254 feet, and then in 2016 there were some issues, and some modifications were made that reduced the actual width of the span to 180 feet. This meant that after that adjustment, smaller vessels could have only passed through during retraction.
Moving forward to 2021, works were done on spans 10 and 9 and in 2022, Span 9 fractured and continued to fracture. With the fractured span, a temporary pontoon was installed to take off the weight under span 9.
Additionally, it was explained that some parts of the span panels also are fractured and even when they are re-welded, after a short time it’s back to square one.
Most of the damage has taken place on the left side of the bridge, going east to west. According to the authorities, this clearly is due to the movement of trucks.
While the span is being worked on, other works will be done on the high span taking advantage of the fact that the bridge will be down.
The days were chosen because of the tidal current and as such the work could not be conducted on the weekend. The DHB Team will work along with the Infab Team.
Chairman of the DHB, Ravi Ramcharitar, said that this replacement is being facilitated for public safety.
“Works on the Span was planned since last year and is in the interest of public safety that we are replacing Span Nine. It was not a decision that was taken very lightly. The existing Span Nine is in terrible shape mechanically and it needs to be replaced. As you would have seen new Span Nine is already constructed and has been floated into position and it is adjacent to the structure if you are traversing the bridge on a daily basis. So, this is really in the interest of public safety. As the chairman of the board, we have a responsibility to ensure that the bridge is safe for all travellers.”
As such, Ramcharitar is asking the public to exercise some patience, adding that he knows that all those involved will be under some stress. And with the bridge set to close, several plans are being put in place to ensure that the stress is minimised.
During the course of the consultations, rules and procedures for commuters and businesses were drawn up to assist in the entire process.
24-hour water taxis will be operational and only licensed taxis will be allowed to traverse the waters with passengers
The Grove/Wales route will also be used for water taxis.
No increase in fares will be allowed
All movement on the water will be monitored by the police, coast guard and MARAD
Police in both Region Three and Four will be working together to ensure there’s safety and smooth flow of traffic
Extra lights will be placed in the area of traffic
24-hour ambulance service will be available on the water
Suppliers of goods are asked to factor in hat there will be no movement of heavy goods for those three days
Fuel companies are asked to ensure that there is adequate fuel for the three days
Airlines will be consulted on adjustment of check-in times
The Bridge will be open up to 11:58pm on July 24 and will re-open at midnight on the 27th
The Bridge is expected to be closed for regular retractions days before work and after.
Extended time of closure is expected on July 18 in preparation for the repairs to start.
Persons are asked to keep their garbage in a safe place since the garbage trucks will not be working.
Shuttle buses will be made available for persons on the west side heading to the ports.
