By Telesha Ramnarine

FOR approximately four months now, the Barr Street Bridge in Albouystown has been out of order, and no word on its restoration has been forthcoming from authorities.Proportional Councillor for Constituency 10, Heston Bostwick, surmised on Friday that traffic will soon not be able to use any of the Albouystown links, as the other bridges surrounding the one at Barr Street are now feeling the pressure.

According to him, a pipe issue arose at the said Barr Street, but the Guyana Water Inc. has since fixed it. Nothing has since been done to the bridge, he said.

The councillor has observed that the bridges at Hill Street and Albouys St are becoming affected, as they now have to deal with more traffic than usual. The one at Hunter Street is also sinking.

“Soon we may not be able to pass through Albouystown,” he told the Chronicle on Friday.

The bridge, which serves as a key alternative for traffic coming from as far as the East Bank of Demerara, is in need of immediate attention, after being closed to vehicular traffic. Councillor Malcolm Ferreira had recently requested the City Council to provide an update on the works being done there, and City Engineer Colvern Venture had responded that the tender document was being finalized, after which it would be sent to the Town Clerk’s Office.
“A redesign was done, and we did a revision of what was proposed. The document just needs some fine-tuning before it is sent to the Town Clerk’s Office to go out to tender,” Venture had said.

City Treasurer Ron Mc Calman offered that when the tender is completed and the proposed information as it relates to cost becomes available, it would then be determined if funds would be made available.

Meanwhile, Councillor Ferreira, in an invited comment, had told this newspaper that he is hoping Government would step in and assist the City Council in restoring the bridge. He described it as a “key artery” out of his constituency into the City.

Chairman of the Finance Committee, Oscar Clarke, had said that once the matter is brought to the committee, the bridge would be put on the priority list.

“That bridge is so important to the City that it has to get priority. I would like to assure the Council that once it comes to the Finance Committee, it will get priority treatment. I see no reason why that bridge should not be done on or before the last quarter of this year,” Clarke said.

Barr Street serves as a key alternative to the La Penitence Public Road for vehicles coming from the East Bank of Demerara and heading to Central Georgetown. The absence of this bridge contributes to a severe build-up of traffic in contiguous areas, and many of the streets in Albouystown are very narrow for two-way traffic.

Albouystown has long been regarded as a ‘high crime’ area, causing motorists to be hesitant about using the streets surrounding Barr Street.