The highly anticipated US$262 million new Demerara River Bridge is scheduled to be commissioned in early September, according to President Irfaan Ali, as he joined officials early Thursday morning to witness the final pour of cement to fully connect the four-lane structure.
Just after 02:00h, the Head of State gave the instructions for the final set of concrete to be poured to finally connect the eastern and western sides of the new bridge.
President Irfaan Ali and other officials witnessing the final concrete pour to connect the new Demerara River Bridge in the wee hours of Thursday
According to President Ali, this milestone event brings the bridge closer to completion.
“So, the bridge is structurally going to be completed,” he noted, adding that after the final concrete pour, the paving work will be completed.
“There is one section of the entrance on the east end that will be completed. And of course, we had some modifications of the design, putting in a collector’s lane for better traffic management and traffic flow. So that is being completed. So, I would say very early in September, we will be driving on and off of the bridge,” the Head of State said.
To support the new four-lane high-span cable-stayed bridge, access roads are being constructed at both ends of the bridge, which lands at Nandy Park on the East Bank of Demerara and at La Grange on the West Bank of Demerara. On the eastern end, a four-lane road is being built out to take the bridge traffic directly onto the Heroes Highway, where a roundabout is currently under construction.
According to the President, these roadworks are nearing completion.
“They’re almost completed. There’s only one section [on the eastern side], and that is because the bridge was under construction for safety reasons. That section, by tomorrow [or] in the next 48 hours, will be up to the level for paving, and then that section will be completed. The other section on the [western] side, you know, we had existing structures that were supporting the construction of the bridge. That is now removed so that the collector’s lane is now being completed,” Ali stated.
Productive time
The new Demerara River bridge is a 2.65-kilometre (km) four-lane cable-stayed structure with a 50-metre (m) fixed-high span to cater for the free and uninterrupted flow of vessels, thus allowing for the free flow of vehicular traffic with travellers enjoying toll-free crossings.
With the new bridge, the incumbent President explained, there would not only be a significant reduction in traffic congestion and travel time but also added productive and social value.
“The bridge is going to give you more productive time, so productivity will increase, manhours will increase, there will be less stress on families… schoolchildren, they normally leave an hour [to] an hour and a half earlier to get past the traffic, to get to school in the morning and then get home late in the evening. So, there are a lot of social benefits, more family time, more community time, and more productive time. All of that adds to the value creation of the bridge.”
“We’re here to celebrate. We’re here to move forward. I’m very, very proud of our guys. Listen, I put a lot of pressure on these guys. I’m proud of this team, and I’m sure that they will ensure that everything is as we wanted it to be – bright and beautiful.
It’s an amazing time for Guyana… This is about Guyana; this is about the people. This is a remarkable accomplishment by the people, for the people, and we are very proud,” President Ali posited.
Designed to last at least 100 years, the new Demerara River Bridge has features like a bicycle and pedestrian lane and will also feature the Cacique Crown of Honour (CCH), Guyana’s second-highest national award, as part of its design.
Upskilling, retooling and redeploying
This new bridge across the Demerara River will replace the aged floating Demerara Harbour Bridge (DHB), which will be removed and reused to bridge other waterways across the country.
With the closure of the existing DHB and the Government’s recent removal of tolls, President Ali had previously told this newspaper that not one of the workers, including the toll booth employees, would be placed on the breadline.
“Not a single employee would lose their job. We’ll be upskilling, retooling and redeploying. There is enough space in the system for the deployment and integration of everyone. So, we have absolutely no issue in relation to any worker being underutilised or losing their job,” he had noted.
As a matter of fact, President Ali had explained that the workers would be upskilled to take up roles in managerial positions, accounting, auditing and in the technical area as well.
“We’ll still need service personnel on the new bridge, and also with the expanded nature of the ministries – the widened area of service and responsibility – we need more people. So, everyone will be absorbed in the system. There is absolutely no worry about that,” the Guyanese leader had assured.
