–residents excited at the prospect

TRAVERSING the West Bank of Demerara (WBD) road will be easier than it was two months ago when the Bagotville Bridge fell apart, now that the new bridge is almost done and scheduled to be opened to traffic on December 10.

GAICO Construction Inc. was awarded a $97M contract to build a new bridge in the community after the main access bridge in the area started to sink.
The support beams of the bridge were damaged due to erosion and heavy rains; heavy-duty vehicles also helped add to the deterioration.

GAICO Managing Director, Komal Singh told the Guyana Chronicle on Saturday that the company has already poured the concrete, but that the mixture has to go through a 21-day curing period, which is expected to end on December 7.
“This week, we are going to asphalt it because it has to be overlaid, but we are on track and will finish before December 10,” Singh said.

Work on the bridge began on September 21 with the intention of having it completed on or before November 30.
The contractor said that while they did not encounter any difficulties over the past two months, they gave the project maximum attention so that the work would be done properly.

Singh believes that it was only a matter of time before the old bridge sank, because it was a wooden structure that was encased in concrete.
The new bridge, however, is made of steel and concrete, so it is expected to last a very long time.

It will also cater for both vehicular and pedestrian traffic, since two walkways have been installed on either side of the bridge.
Prior to the construction of the new bridge, a temporary one was constructed nearby so as to help ease the traffic.

But residents had said the temporary bridge was not enough to handle the level of traffic that traversed the area on a daily basis, so they were excited to hear that the new bridge will be opened soon.