Speeding trucks, boats causing damage to DHB – Min Edghill

…traffic analysis being done; bridge to see reduced speed limit, fewer retractions

Public Works Minister Juan Edghill has revealed that speeding trucks and even vessels are the primary cause behind the worsening damages to the Demerara Harbour Bridge (DHB) and that steps including enforcing a speed limit, will be taken.

Edghill made this revelation during an engagement with technical staff at the Demerara Harbour Bridge on Sunday. He explained that they have received advice from both internal and external technical experts.
He recalled that they had previously advertised the bridge’s temporary closure on Saturday due to damages, which would allow for remedial work to a component of the bridge. The damage is such, however, that as of Sunday it had not been fixed. And he revealed that trucks are one of the primary culprits for this damage.
“Span nine is not fixed. So, the one and a half hours of yesterday’s work did not fix the problems of span nine. All it did was allow us to fix one of 272 eyes or pins, to get the bridge into some state to allow retractions for marine traffic and to keep vehicular traffic moving,” Edghill explained.

“We have observed that damages to the bridge are being caused by both vehicular and marine traffic. So, we’ve had to put measures in place particularly for the trucks. Because all of the damages causing us headaches are damages occurring in the braking zone. When the trucks are speeding and they have to apply brakes, we’re getting the damages.”
Edghill called for truckers traversing the bridge to adopt a new culture, while also revealing that they have taken certain steps such as releasing trucks to cross the bridge intermittently. However, he noted that the marine traffic and the speed at which they pass under the bridge is also causing damage.
“Because some of them are moving with such speed and they are creating waves and currents, they are causing misalignment of the bridge. So, when the bridge twist up and the anchors are shifted, getting the bridge to open and close is difficult. So just like we’re working with the truckers to slow down, we’re also working with the vessels.”

Traffic management
When it comes to traffic management, Edghill said that they are working with mariners to schedule bridge retractions when there is the least vehicular traffic, such as at night. According to him, they are doing an analysis of traffic patterns in order to come up with bridge schedules that satisfy both marine and terrestrial traffic.
“We’ve already made a decision that we’re not going to have openings from 02:00 to 05:00 in the afternoon, to deal with the rush hour traffic. Now, we’re coming to a place where we’ll have to allow these vessels to pass at night.”
“We may have to still facilitate some daytime openings because we have tug and barges which is not very safe to transit at night. So, we may have to do that during the day but we will announce that. So, we’re doing an analysis of the traffic patterns. So, we’ll be able to schedule openings both for regular vessels, tugs and barges. And that analysis will be completed within the next 48 hours.”
Meanwhile, Civil Engineer Marcel Gaskin, who was present during the engagement, explained that the DHB has outlived its lifespan and is showing signs of serious wear and tear. He said the approach to fixing the issues would be done over short and long-term phases, even as plans are ongoing to build a new Demerara River bridge from Nandy Park on the East Bank of Demerara (EBD) to La Grange on the West Bank of Demerara (WBD).
Gaskin said this includes replacing the retractor span (a retractor span opens and closes to allow large vessels to pass). Currently, span nine is worse than span ten, but both have suffered severe damage. Gaskin predicted that the situation should be fixed over a six-month period.
Highlighting some of the short-term measures, the engineer noted that the “roller cards” will be replaced. These are the underside protection which are located at the area that opens and closes the bridge.