“Stop causing confusion” – Harbour Bridge manager to motorists

The General Manager of the Demerara Harbour Bridge (DHB), Wayne Watson has issued a warning to drivers who commute on the Demerara Harbour, to stop causing confusion by manipulating the lines and lanes to get a quick pass through the traffic.

DHB Head Wayne Watson

This came just after several persons took to social media to express frustration with the constant traffic congestion on the East Bank of Demerara corridor.
As such, Watson has advised that drivers be very considerate, knowing the traffic build-up they can cause.
He said irrespective of what portfolio a person holds, he or she must be respectful of the other road users.

Traffic Officer, Inspector Maniram Jaganandan

“The borrers, the bullies… irrespective of what name or title you carry, you have to have an appreciation for the next person using the road. That is the problem. Despite your job title, if everybody respects the other user, things can move smoothly,” he said.
Nonetheless, he stated that even with the traffic build-up, there are systems in place to assist with the free flow of traffic while pointing out that there are certain matters that are out of their control.
“In terms of an incident on the bridge… it depends upon the nature of the issue. For example, this morning there was an airlock. We have mechanisms to get vehicles off the bridge, but because of the airlock, there was no way to tow the truck unless we got the air released…”, he explained.
Only recently on an episode of Police and You, Traffic Officer attached to the Diamond Police Station, Inspector Maniram Jaganandan, spoke of drivers stopping on the East Bank corridor to pick up and drop off passengers, or purchase items.
He said this has to stop because it is causing holdups. He further begged drivers to ensure the free flow of traffic.
“With East Bank traffic, a person just have to stop for one minute and you will see how many vehicles behind that same vehicle that stops for just half of a minute to purchase whatever they want to purchase….”, he said.
The traffic officer also alluded to the fact that traffic congestion can cost the life of someone who needs immediate medical attention.
He said the closest medical facility on the East Bank is the Diamond Diagnostic Centre, and there is usually traffic to get there.
“From the Diamond junction, going back south on the Soesdyke junction its one lane north, and one lane south… it is a challenging situation because if an accident occurs early in the day, and the traffic is busy there, we have to try our best to get there.”
A week ago, the Guyana Police Force said that in an effort to reduce the traffic chaos and confusion at the Demerara Harbour Bridge, Police Commissioner (ag) Clifton Hicken met with Traffic Chief Ramesh Ashram and the DHBC management to reassess the traffic strategy that was put in place to alleviate the traffic woes at the bridge during the peak hours.
During the meeting, Traffic Chief Ashram said more traffic ranks will be visible at specific points along the road, to assess the traffic situation; and in the event of congestion, a decision will be taken to open up an extra lane to ease the traffic flow. (G9)