…water taxis at secondary locations discontinue on Thursday night
Following the successful installation of the newly-built Span Nine, the Demerara Harbour Bridge (DHB) on Thursday reopened six hours before the three-day timeline for repair works expired.
Team who worked on Span Nine installation and repair works
Initially set to be closed until 23:59h on Thursday, the Bridge reopened at 18:00h, after the completion of minor fine-tuning.
“We have completed our task and we’ll be opening the Bridge six hours ahead of schedule. So as much as we gained that advantage on the first day, the men did not [slowly] approach it. They kept the same momentum and we were able to maintain that time,” Public Works Minister, Juan Edghill said, during an update earlier on Thursday.
An 18-ton weight restriction will remain in place for laden vehicles, following this reopening.
At about 19:00h on Thursday evening, Prime Minister, Brigadier (Ret’d) Mark Phillips, along with the public works ministers and several other officials visited the bridge.
Speaking with the media the prime minister, who is performing the duties of the president said, “We had no incidents, and no injuries, and that speaks to the fact that we were able to communicate effectively to the people of Guyana, and the people responded. We had an orderly situation as we endured the disruption to do what is necessary in order to have this bridge in working order again.”
Public Works, Bishop Juan Edghill commended all the agencies, contractors and staff that were involved, pointing out that executing the arduous task in such a short time was team work.
Public Works Minister, Juan Edghill, staff of MARAD, T&HD and members of the Guyana Police Force following the press briefing at the DHB (DPI photo)
“This did not just happen by accident. It took planning, partnership, and the support and cooperation of a lot of people. As the minister responsible, I deeply appreciate the role that every member of the team and every stakeholder played in getting this done,” the public works minister. Similar sentiments were shared by minister within the Public Works Ministry, Deodat Indar.
General Manager of the DHB, Wayne Watson, also lauded the hard work of all the agencies involved and assured that the works completed have rendered the bridge structurally safe and sound.
The new $1.2 billion span was built by Industrial Fabrications Inc (InFab), a local company who assisted the DHB team with its installation, starting from the wee hours of Tuesday, immediately upon the closure of the bridge.
On Wednesday afternoon, the new retractor was already in place and the plates (decks) were installed, while a cable wheel to hold the hydraulic lines as well as the electrical cabin to control the hydraulics and the two towers were positioned as well.
At that time, the two arms to lift the rack when the bridge retracts were yet to be completed before testing of the bridge followed.
On Thursday, final cleaning wrapped up at about 14:00h.
The Bridge Management had also utilised the closure to facilitate other maintenance works on Spans 10 to 29, Spans 30 to 38 and Spans 39 to 61, which would have required closure at a later time.
Water taxis
During this three-day closure, the Maritime Administration Department (MARAD) facilitated the 24-hour operation of water taxis to transport people.
In addition to the regular Stabroek to Vreed-en-Hoop crossing, two other temporary terminals were set up from Grove, East Bank Demerara to Wales, West Bank Demerara, and at the Demerara Harbour Bridge.
Reportedly, 78 passenger boats were dispatched to support this massive effort at the two secondary locations.
However, with the early reopening of the Bridge to vehicular and passenger service, MARAD on Thursday announced that the water taxi service at the DHB would terminate at 18:00h.
Meanwhile, the water taxi services between Grove and Wales continued until 20:00h, while services between Stabroek and Vreed-en-Hoop remained uninterrupted throughout the night, with the water taxis at this location positioned to resume regular operations of 05:30h to 20:00h from Friday.
