On the heels of concerns raised by residents over the state of the Mackenzie/Wismar Bridge in Linden, Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice), a team of engineers on Wednesday inspected the structure.
Linden Mayor Carwyn Holland, who was present during the inspection, said the bridge was “deemed healthy for usage and structurally sound” by the engineering
Engineers chatting with Linden Mayor Carwyn Holland following the inspection of the Mackenzie/Wismar Bridge
team, however a complete final report on the findings is expected to be submitted within a week or two. Nevertheless, engineers did point out several issues caused by the lack of maintenance below the bridge. The engineers also recommended the need for sand blasting of the rusted parts and painting of the structure.
“They would have recommended the complete spraying and pressure washing of the bridge to get rid of the bauxite dust that would have over the years built up. (It has built up) so much so that you have vegetation under the bridge… that in itself could have caused some amount of corrosion but to their estimation, it’s not that significant…,” the Mayor pointed out.
Additionally, he said recommendations were made for improvements at the top of the centre span. Motor vehicle users had complained of that section of the bridge, which they noted has damaging effects on the undercarriage of their vehicles. “Discussions were made for the whole construction at the top, where they have these steel plates that are causing the jagged crossing on the centre of the bridge, to change somewhat to a smoother flow to ease the bumping which causes some difficulty,” the Mayor added.
He said too that while the bridge has been deemed “usable”, the present issue lies with the intense volume of traffic which it presently experiences, since the amount has almost doubled in recent times. As a result, Holland said there is still need for the construction of a second bridge, since the current one is incapable of handling the volume of traffic. The Mayor said this will also be useful especially with the construction of a road from Mabura to Linden, which is expected to be funded by the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB).
Additionally, the Mayor said it is his understanding that the construction of a new bridge is not off the charts, according to information from the Public Infrastructure Ministry. He said an approach will now be made to the CDB for funding as he urged Government to see this through to fruition.
“I understand that the initial source of funding for that bridge (IDB) is no longer available. This information wasn’t communicated to me earlier… I understand Government’s judgement but what I wish for them, more so Minister Patterson to understand is that this new bridge is very much needed in Linden. It is a promise made by no one but himself to the people of Linden and we have great expectations for that second bridge and we must have that bridge…,” Holland said. He also thanked Municipal Councillor Lennox Gasper for bringing issues regarding the bridge to the fore.
