Commuters traversing the Demerara River on Tuesday experienced smooth sailing as the 24-hour water taxi operation and a well-oiled system prevented any glitches from occurring as commuters were being transported to their destinations.
The Demerara Harbour Bridge was officially closed for three days on Monday evening to facilitate the replacement of Retractor Span 9 and to effect other critical works on the aged structure, and there is a possibility that those tasks would be completed before the Thursday deadline.
Works on the bridge entailed removing the old retractor span and replacing it with a spanking new structure
Public Works Minister Juan Edghill was accompanied by MARAD Director General Stephen Thomas as an inspection was carried out at all facilities which were activated for crossings.
Minister within the Ministry of Public Works, Deodat Indar inspecting the works at the DHB
All hands were on deck as 78 passenger boats navigated across three routes along the river: Wales to Grove on the East Bank of Demerara (EBD); the eastern and western ends of the Demerara Harbour Bridge; and the permanent Vreed-en-Hoop to Stabroek Market crossing. Water taxis were transferred from the Essequibo route to support this massive effort at the two secondary locations.
Minister Edghill, who was at the Stabroek Stelling, told Guyana Times, “We have the capacity right now to move between 5,000 and 7,000 persons per hour across. One of the boats carries about 30 to 32, and it takes about 10 minutes per crossing, if you do the math. There is no need for panic. Nobody will have long waits. There is no unnecessary buildup of traffic. We’ve been on this since 05:30h this morning, ensuring that we have everything.”
Commuters were seemingly pleased with the systems in place. Many were surprised at the short waiting time to board a water taxi and the orderly exit strategies.
Replacement
After a prompt closure at midnight to commence the replacement works, authorities utilized the tide to their advantage in getting ahead of the scheduled works.
“We’ve had favourable tide in terms of the calmness of the water. The contractor as well as the General Manager of the Harbour Bridge took advantage and did some works that were scheduled for 06:00h at 04:30h. This gives an advantage, because that has worked well,” Edghill noted.
The new $1.2 billion Span 9 was fabricated by a local company, Industrial Fabrications Inc (InFab), and was completed a few months ago. Repairs had to be done to this section of the DHB following extensive damage sustained in October 2022 when the Panama-registered oil tanker MV Tradewind Passion crashed into the bridge and rendered it inoperable for several days. The incident was said to be one of the most serious collisions endured by the 44-year-old metal structure. However, cracks and breakages were evident on the Bridge even before that incident.
“It became worse and more pronounced after the accident,” Edghill told the media.
Throughout Tuesday, the old Span 9 was detached and removed.
The new span, which was sitting in close proximity to the bridge, was set into place and aligned. Some 80 deck plates are to be welded on the surface of the new span, the high span, and on other sections of the structure.
General Manager of the DHB, Wayne Watson, detailed, “The current activity is the merger of the two spans – the Span 10 and the new Span 9 – and alignment, followed by decking and the installation of the ramp and other controls or devices.”
He added that the overall work does not just include this replacement. In fact, $85 million was injected into upgrading the high span, and another $60 million was injected for internal works at several spans. The Bridge Management has utilized the closure to facilitate other maintenance works which would have required closure at a later time.
Persons utilizing the speedboat service on Tuesday
Meanwhile, Minister Edghill has also hinted that the work might be finished ahead of the deadline.
“We had a visit to the bridge, where we checked on the works going on there. It is quite satisfactory. Everybody should be in anticipation and putting good thoughts out, we may be able to open ahead of time. But definitely, this weekend the bridge will be operational.”
Incident-free
The Maritime Administration Department (MARAD) has employed an additional 30 monitors to temporarily deal with increased foot traffic. On the ground, the Guyana Police Force was on board to lend support with adequate presence. Deputy Commissioner ‘Operations’, Ravindradat Budhram; Assistant Commissioner and Head of Special Branch, Errol Watts; Assistant Commissioner and Regional Division Commander Four (A), Simon McBean, were among the officers joining Coordinator of the Maritime Emergency Operations, John Flores, for inspections at the Stabroek Market.
From reports, there were no incidents or robbery.
“There have been no incidents of injury, robbery, or anybody being hassled. Special attention is being made to assisting women with babies, pregnant mothers, senior citizens, and people who are travelling from overseas with their suitcases. Systems are in place, and it is moving smoothly. We are extremely grateful for that,” Minister Edghill declared.
MARAD, in a notice, has assured commuters that the additional services are in place to ease potential congestion at Vreed-en-Hoop. The areas are lit, secured, and monitored by law enforcement. The service will run on a 24-hour basis, and the fare remains at $100.
MARAD Director General Stephen Thomas has said, “Basically, it means we must have a seamless flow of traffic, full safety, no overcharging of fares, and orderliness. I am pleased to announce that everything has moved to plan, and we have several vessels in operation.
“Now, we have a good, solid structure at Wales and at Grove. The feedback has been positive. We put a lot of work into it. I am hopeful that it would continue,” he added.
Thousands of people use the water taxi system every day. It is the fastest way to move between Regions Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara) and Four (Demerara-Mahaica), and is a daily routine for those travelling for work, school, or other activities.
Commuters are being reminded to wear a life jacket securely when crossing the river, and to immediately report any incident or infraction to the Maritime Safety Department through the monitors at each location.
