By Shauna Jemmott
THE Demerara Harbour Bridge has announced a closure of the bridge to vehicular traffic on Sunday for six hours to facilitate installing a new pontoon which supports the main operating system of the bridge, the hydraulic cabin.General Manager Rawlston Adams announced that the bridge will be closed from 06:00hrs to 12:00hrs to facilitate the maintenance work and those who desire to travel from the West Demerara to East Demerara, or vice versa, are advised to do so early or find alternative ways of getting across.

The estimated cost of the maintenance project is $48.8M, with the cost of the new pontoon alone being $46M.
During a press conference at his office yesterday, Adams told the media that the closure of the bridge to change a main pontoon is unavoidable, since that pontoon accommodates the hydraulic cabin which houses the main and sensitive equipment which controls the operation of the bridge.
“We try our utmost in executing major works on the bridge, not to close [but] because of the technical nature [of the work] the closure is unavoidable. The main focus is the protection of the hydraulic cabin.”
The pontoon at span 8.4, which is the last pontoon which houses the hydraulic cabin on the eastern side of the bridge, is scheduled for a change.
“What is so special (is that) this pontoon houses the hydraulic cabin and that’s the main thing here. That is the life of the bridge,” Adams said. Two motors, he explained, in excess of a tonnage are secured in the cabins.
The cabin is also known as the ‘equipment control’ station and has to be carefully removed, since it has sensitive equipment which if damaged can result in halting the work of major industries, such as fuel and electricity suppliers, which depend on the bridge for transportation.
Adams explained to the press that the bridge has two such cabins housing very sensitive hydraulic components, and in order for the bridge to function, the hydraulic cabin must be re-installed immediately. Replacement of traditional pontoons, he said, is a different process, since those regular pontoons are usually taken out and cabins removed and replaced.
The maintenance work is just part of a larger maintenance programme which the DHB company has enlisted for this year, but Adams assured the media that additional work will not entail further closing of the bridge to vehicular traffic, though they may take in excess of five days.
“We want to inform them so that they can make alternative arrangements.” The bridge has very little storage capacity to store vehicles, and DHB is collaborating with the Police Traffic Department to put systems in place to manage such storage.
“Six hours is quite a long time to wait… to ease the stress and the inconvenience of the effects of the [operation] to the public.”
He explained that the hydraulic cabin will be lifted out and hydraulic pipes have to be disconnected. It will be placed on a lowbed for safe keeping, while the pontoon is being replaced.
The two hydraulic cabins are on both eastern and western ends of the retractor span on the bridge, with the bridge opening in the centre of the two cabin locations, and the cabin controlling the bridge’s functions.
According to Adams, because of the sensitive nature of the equipment involved, works must be done in daylight to ensure good visibility, since “we cannot take any chances and any risks. We have analysed all the necessary risks and potential issues and make sure that we cover them.”
He said though the pontoon has been there 15 years now, the project had been planned since 2000 and the equipment fabricated in 2014 and delivered.
Adams said further that workers’ safety will always be a priority at the DHB. “We take it very seriously at the bridge. Occupational Health and Safety for us is not a month, it is all the time.”
He said that taking this into consideration, the DHB always has at the bridge a tug and a boat equipped with life-saving mechanisms.