THE bridges at Dennis Street and Eastern Highway and Dennis Street and Stone Avenue, Campbellville are set to be completed ahead of schedule. Minister of Public Works, Bishop Juan Edghill on Friday inspected both bridges.

C&L Construction Inc was contracted to execute the works on the Eastern Highway to the tune of $36.9 million.

“Work began by the middle of December, replacing timber piles and timber structures with concrete in its entirety, concrete piles, concrete beams and concrete surface. Last night they poured the concrete for the decking, and, as you can see, they are putting some sand on the concrete to help with the curing process, so that we will be able to get this bridge open; we anticipate within two weeks,” the minister said.

The bridge on Stone Avenue, Campbellville, Minister Edghill said, will be completed within a week, and was contracted out to the tune of $34.6 million to DevCon Construction and Contracting Services. One of the reasons for the project being completed ahead of time was the use of modern techniques in casting. In this case, the contractor used pre-cast concrete, which eliminated the time for the casting of the bridge.

Minister Edghill said he was delighted that the construction of both bridges, which had a two-month deadline, will be done ahead of time, as it will ease congestion.

“When that bridge at the Eastern Highway collapsed, this one was in a very deplorable condition. All the traffic of people trying to head north to south had to end up going all the way to Sheriff Street. There was some concern and some inconvenience, but safety was a big issue, and that is why we had to close off these bridges. I am happy to report that even though there was an inconvenience, you are getting it back brand-new for another 50 or 60 years,” Minister Edghill said.

The Public Works Minister pointed out that government is seeking to have all rollover projects completed before the reading of the 2022 National Budget.

“One of the reasons why I am on the road today is to ensure that everybody is at work, and all of our projects are moving apace. There is no slacking up; Guyana’s development is too important for people to be on Christmas and New Year’s vacation,” the minister firmly stated. (DPI)