An accident on Wednesday afternoon involving trawlers has put the Demerara Harbour Bridge Company (DHBC) in assessment mode as it seeks to get a handle on the extent of the damages caused by the vessels.
The trawlers at the side of the DHB
In an interview with this publication, DHBC General Manager Rawlston Adams assured that the flow of traffic is not affected by the accident. He explained that the company will be doing its assessment of the damages.
“The extent of the damage is that two buoys got disconnected. It won’t affect the flow of traffic. We don’t know (the cost to repair); that happened this afternoon. We’re in the process of getting them removed. We will assess what the damage is,” he explained.
It was only a few days ago that there was an accident on the Harbour Bridge between a car and a truck, leaving traffic backed up for miles. However, it was eventually dealt with, although traffic normalised only hours later.
Back in September 2019, an accident had forced the DHBC to close off marine traffic and, for a short time, even vehicular traffic, after a vessel slammed into the bridge. A tug and barge hit the bridge, and in the process, loosened the plates.
At the time, the closure of the bridge had resulted in much inconvenience for commuters. For instance, the Vreed-en-Hoop junction had to be cordoned off and persons had to walk to the docking area of the dilapidated stelling, as Police ranks tried to control the crowds.
School-age children had to push to reach the next available boats in order to reach to school on time on the very first boats. Several boats had to be lined up to cater to the stream of passengers trickling into the vessels amidst the confusion. (G3)
