$263.1 million spent to repair Harbour Bridge in 2020 
According to statistics provided by the Demerara Harbour Bridge Corporation, 
some 75 per cent of marine accidents have been compensated for, while 95 per cent of those responsible for vehicular accidents have financed  repairs
According to statistics provided by the Demerara Harbour Bridge Corporation, some 75 per cent of marine accidents have been compensated for, while 95 per cent of those responsible for vehicular accidents have financed repairs

— more than $924.5 million spent over past four years 

ASIDE from its annual maintenance budget, the Demerara Harbour Bridge Corporation (DHBC) expends hundreds of millions of dollars each year to repair damage caused by vehicular and marine activity. In 2020, that sum stood at a whopping $263,163,644. In 2019, $104,157,912 was spent on doing repairs. Earlier in 2018, the cost of repairing the bridge was $367,231,456; in 2019, the cost of executing repairs was pegged at $190,034,756.

This means that within the last four years, the DHBC has spent exactly $924,587,768 on repairing damage done to the bridge. In cases where an errant party can be clearly detected, those persons are liable to fund the requisite repairs to the age-old structure. According to statistics provided by the DHBC, some 75 per cent of marine accidents have been compensated for, while 95 per cent of those responsible for vehicular accidents have financed the repairs.

Public Works Minister Juan Edghill had previously explained that apart from accidents, the bridge continues to be damaged by speeding marine vessels, as well as speeding trucks applying brakes suddenly. In such cases, no particular person or agency could be pinpointed to provide compensation. As such, these repairs are often funded by the DHBC, with the support of government subventions.

It was only at the end of March that significant damage was done to ‘Span Nine’ of the floating structure, forcing government to institute measures that monitor the number of trucks going onto the bridge at once. “We have to get a new culture of truckers driving on the bridge,” the minister posited.  With trucks traversing the bridge at intervals, there is usually a daily build-up of trucks at both ends of the  bridge.

Minister Edghill had said that at one point the DHBC was even considering having police traffic ranks stationed with their ‘speed guns’, along the bridge itself. The Public Works Minister indicated too that the owners and captains of marine vessels were also being engaged in relation to speeding, as well. “Because some of them [the vessels] are moving with such speed, and they are creating waves and current, they are causing misalignment to the bridge,” Edghill had explained.

NEW STRUCTURE

Meanwhile, as authorities continue to grapple with the high cost of maintaining the existing Demerara Harbour Bridge, works are progressing on the construction of a new structure, which is likely to commence before the end of 2021.

As a matter of fact, it was only last week that President Dr. Irfaan Ali announced that the nine prequalified bidders for the new Demerara Harbour Bridge will be invited to tender.

Reports are that bidders for the project will be expected to submit their bids within three months of receiving the bid documents, after which construction will commence. The bidders will be required to bid on two options: first, a design, build and finance option, and second, a design, build, operate and finance option.

The prequalified entities are Ballast Nedam Infrastructure Suriname BV; Odebrecht Engenharia e Construcao SA; Boskalis Guyana; Effiage Genie Civil Company Limited (Netherlands); Rizzani de Eccher Construction (Italy); China State Construction Engineering Corp; China Gezhouba Group Company Limited; JV China Railway International Group; China Road and Bridge Company; and China Railway Construction Corporation Limited.

Some of the companies have partnered to bid for the project.
While an estimated cost has not yet been announced, the new ‘fly-over’ Demerara Harbour Bridge is expected to stretch from Nandy Park on the East Bank of Demerara (EBD) to La Grange on the West Bank of Demerara (WBD).

This new four-lane, high-span bridge, which is scheduled to be completed in two years after the commencement of work, will replace the existing structure which was built in 1976, over four decades ago.

“We expect the bridge to be completed and delivered within 24 months from the commencement of its construction,” President Ali said during a press conference at State House, last Wednesday.

Following an inspection of the proposed site for the new bridge, in September 2020, President Ali had said: “There is no time and we cannot have too many time lapses… the current bridge is limping along and that is a nice way to put it.”

NEED FOR ENHANCED INFRASTRUCTURE

Again, on Wednesday, the President referred to the need for enhanced infrastructure, especially to alleviate the traffic woes related to travel from Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara) to Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica).

In his view, the existing infrastructure does not allow for an increase in productivity, as persons travelling from Region Three would spend close to three hours in traffic. With this being the case, President Ali reiterated his government’s commitment to investing in transformational infrastructure such as the new Demerara Harbour Bridge.

It was reported that while the bridge is the main focus, the government’s transportation plan is not just a “connection plan” as the project will also include “service/feeder” roads to support the main highways.

“The alignment would connect to a four-lane alignment on Haags Bosch or Bagotville Road and that will be developed into a four-lane facility between the new four-lane (Ogle-East Bank bypass road) and what will be the older four-lane,” President Ali had said in September.

The interconnections created by the new project will allow for a smooth flow of traffic and even create an alternative linkage between the East Coast of Demerara (ECD) and EBD. Additionally, the initial Expression of Interest (EoI) for the bridge had indicated that the iconic DHB would be disassembled following commissioning of the new bridge.

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