BJ Demerara River Bridge: Heroes Highway slip lanes nearing completion to speed up bridge traffic – Croal

Works on the slip lanes that built along the Heroes Highway on the East Bank Demerara (EBD) to facilitate traffic coming from and going onto the Bharrat Jagdeo Demerara River Bridge are almost completed. This is according to Housing Minister Collin Croal, who recently told Guyana Times that the construction phase is completed. The remaining works, he explained, include the installation of the metal barriers along the newly built lane between the bridge roundabout and the Haags Bosch Road also called the Eccles Dumpsite Road. “We near finish with the slip lane. The contractor is now putting in the protective barriers,” Croal stated, adding that these works will take about another week. Already, the metal barriers have been installed from the Eccles end of the western ‘slip lane’ that runs from the Demerara River Bridge access road to the Haags Bosch Road. When completed this lane will facilitate traffic coming off from the bridge and taking it directly onto the Haags Bosch Road which connects to the East Bank Public Road. On the eastern side of the Heroes Highway, the additional lane has already been completed and opened up for public use, adding a third lane to accommodate traffic from the Eccles Roundabout to the roundabout at the Demerara River Bridge access road.
This road extension project was executed in five construction lots: Lot One – 500 metres, Lot Two – 350 metres, Lot Three – 480 metres, Lot Four – 750 metres, and Lot Five – 710 metres, with each lot being constructed by different contractors. Works under the project included asphalt pavement construction, the building of concrete drainage structures, installation of metal guardrails and road markings. During a site inspection back in February, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Housing Ministry Dr Martin Pertab, had underscored the increasing importance of the highway, particularly with traffic flow from Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara) via the Bharrat Jagdeo Demerara River Bridge. “The Heroes Highway has become one of the busiest corridors on the East Bank, and it is critical that traffic, especially vehicles coming from Region Three on the Bharrat Jagdeo River Bridge, moves efficiently” Dr Pertab had noted.
The roadway also serves as a key link for commuters travelling along the Ogle to Eccles Highway, which connects the East Coast and East Bank Demerara (EBD) corridors. Since the opening of the new Demerara River Bridge in October 2025, traffic along with Heroes Highway has significantly increased. To minimise disruption to commuters and unnecessary delays, the Government has been working on establishing a new connector road linking Providence, EBD, to the Ogle–Eccles Highway. This aims to minimise the disruption to commuters and unnecessary delays. “What has been happening at the backlands that people don’t see is that from where the road from Ogles to Eccles was built – it stopped – we are continuing the road to Providence so that there can be a smooth connection from that highway to [Heroes] Highway,” Public Works Minister Juan Edghill had previously explained. He had noted that the technical teams were looking at the alignment from the Ogle-Eccles Highway to come out onto the Heroes Highway, which is about a two-kilometre (km) stretch of road that would have to be built.
The Government has engaged Ashoka Buildcon – the Indian company that constructed the Ogle-Eccles bypass road – to build this new access road.