Works on $23.5M Good Hope Bridge to be completed by month end

– Works Coordinator

The Government has come under criticism by commuters for what has been described as an “insensitive move” to have several road projects on the East Coast of Demerara undertaken at once, but Coordinator of Works, Geoffrey Vaughn, has related the importance of these projects and reported that construction of the Good Hope Bridge is soon to be completed.
In an interview on Thursday, Vaughn explained that the project is nearing its completion, and the bridge is expected to be operational by the end of April or the first week in May.
He told Guyana Times he had indeed heard several nasty comments about the

project, since it affects the free flow of traffic.
According to him, “We have created access which people can use, which is access to the other road. There is nothing else we can do at this time but ensure we have proper traffic management, which is being done…”
In relation to the progress of work on the bridge, Vaughn said most of the work is completed.
“Right now, they are putting in some of the other aspects of the bridge, which (are) the columns and the beams and so on. Right now, we are hoping that we have GPL (Guyana Power and Light) to do some removal of some wires that (are) within the areas (where the crane is operating). Once those get removed, we should be able to start moving at a faster pace.”
This newspaper had received complaints from several commuters, who expressed grave dissatisfaction in regard to the project, mainly since it has an adverse effect on the traffic, especially during peak hours.
Rehabilitation of the Good Hope Bridge started last week, and is being undertaken by BK International. Some $23.5 million is reportedly being expended on this project.
The project includes demolition of the old Acrow Panel structure and reconstruction of a concrete one.
Vaughn thus noted: “When we change from the Acrow Panel bridges to the free stress concrete bridges, there is no disruption to traffic, no maintenance issues, and everything flows smoothly. We don’t expect to have any problems with the bridge in the near future”.
It was also explained that the Good Hope Bridge, along with the Annandale and Lusignan bridges, should have been rehabilitated since last year, but there were challenges with regard to the traffic.
“We thought it best not to run all three bridges at the same time, because of traffic issues with the construction of the other two; but because they were in an area where there were more access points to leave and enter the railway embankment, the traffic burden wasn’t felt much by the driving public. But because of the location of this bridge, there seems to be a greater impact on traffic,” Vaughn added.