1st precast girder installed at new Demerara River Bridge
– project 75% completed, on track for March 2025 completion
Work on the new US$260 million bridge across the Demerara River is advancing with the installation of the first precast girder on Friday, marking a milestone stage of the project. The precast girder is a horizontal steel beam that will support the deck of the bridge and the weight of traffic.
Engineer at the Public Works Ministry, Patrick Thompson, who is overseeing the bridge project, explained that a total of 472 girders have to be installed with each set of piers having eight girders connected to each other.
“The girder is then going to be connected to the girder launcher (a crane) and it’s going to be launched onto the first two piers… When this process is completed for the first eight girders, the launcher will be moved successively and so we will continue to launch all the girders until we get to the central span of the bridge,” he noted
These girders, each measuring 42 metres and weighing 120 tonnes, are being installed simultaneously at both ends of the bridge using the launching crane that was custom-built in China for this project.
Public Works Minister Juan Edghill and Engineer Patrick Thompson with the team constructing the new bridge across the Demerara River
“If the process were to continue simultaneously, it would probably take a day to launch all eight girders. The traveller has to move back and forth, and the traveller moves less than two kilometres per hour, which is less than your walking speed,” the Ministry engineer stated.
The construction of the new Demerara River Bridge is being executed by China Railway Construction Corporation Limited (CRCCL).
According to Thompson, works on the bridge structure are about 60 per cent completed while the overall project is about 75 per cent complete.
Public Works Minister, Juan Edghill, who was present to witness the girder installed on the western end of the bridge, assured that the project is on track to meet the March 2025 deadline.
“That is the deadline we’re working towards… The operation here at the bridge is a 24-hour operation… The progress has been continuous. I do get weekly reports and we are on track… So, we are moving along,” Edghill said.
The Public Works Minister further stated that the only thing that could cause a delay in this project is the workers not moving at the pace that they should
“But I think the company is adequately mobilised and the machinery is there,” he stated.
By the end of December, the towers that will hold the highest span of the bridge should be elevated to peak at 112 metres high. Currently, those two towers are at 73 metres.
The steel girder being launched by the crane on the western end of the new Demerara River Bridge on Friday morning
Asked about challenges experienced on the project, the Minister noted that the only issue that could affect the delivery of the bridge is the shipment of parts and materials to Guyana. However, he assured that this has been addressed.
Edghill disclosed that some of the cables for the bridge have already arrived in the country while the remainder are on the high seas, heading here.
The US$260 million new Demerara River Bridge, a key project to alleviate traffic congestion caused by the current floating Demerara Harbour Bridge (DHB), is a critical link between Regions Three and Four (Demerara-Mahaica).
The eastern side of the bridge would land aback Nandy Park on the East Bank of Demerara while the western end would land at La Grange, West Bank Demerara (WBD). A massive 650-body workforce is working to advance the project. Of these, 120 are Guyanese while 85 are Venezuelan migrants.
While the new bridge is being constructed by CRCCL, Italian firm Politecnica is overseeing the project to ensure adherence to the standards set by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO).
The new bridge will be a fixed 2.65-kilometre, four-lane, high-span, cable-stayed structure across the Demerara River, with the width of the driving surface being about 23.6 metres. The bridge, which features a bicycle lane, will bring an end to closures to vehicular traffic with a 50-metre fixed-high span to cater for the free flow of vessels uninterrupted.
It will replace the ageing floating Demerara Harbour Bridge, which has outlived its lifespan by several decades. At 1.25 miles (2.01km), the current Demerara Harbour Bridge is a strategic link between the East and West Banks of Demerara, facilitating the daily movement of hundreds of thousands of vehicles, people, and cargo. (G-8)
