–over new Demerara, Berbice, and Mackenzie/Wismar Bridges, President Ali announces

PRESIDENT Dr. Irfaan Ali on Thursday announced that commuters would soon benefit from toll-free travel across the new Demerara, Berbice and Mackenzie/Wismar Bridges.
The Head of State made this announcement at the commissioning of the Schoonord to Crane four-lane highway in Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara.

The President’s announcement was followed by joyous applause from hundreds of patrons who gathered at a section of the new throughway to witness an official ribbon cutting.
“We are bridging the hearts and minds of every Guyanese. We are bridging every community, and we are doing it free of cost, because we are doing it out of the abundance of love,” the President said.
He said that the government is looking to acquire the current Berbice River Bridge, and once this is done, it will implement a toll-free policy.

Currently, works are progressing on the new Demerara Bridge. It was reported earlier this month that the second main tower “pile cap” of the US$260 million Demerara River Bridge had been successfully completed.
The New Demerara River Bridge is designed to accommodate vehicles of all sizes and weights, with a designated speed limit of 80 kilometres per hour significantly improving upon the current Demerara Harbour Bridge, which limits vehicles to 32 kilometres per hour.
Residents and motorists on the East Bank, West Bank, and West Coast of Demerara will benefit from uninterrupted connectivity, as, unlike its predecessor, the new bridge will eliminate the need for retraction.
The new structure, built six metres above the water, will allow all vessels to pass beneath it without hindrance. This first-of-its-kind bridge in South America is expected to serve Guyanese for at least a century.
China Railway Construction (International) Limited is spearheading the construction, with oversight by the Italian company, Politecnica.

In addition to this, President Ali had recently announced that the government is building a new Berbice Bridge to replicate the modern structure that is currently being built for the New Demerara River Bridge.
In January of this year, a US$35 million contract was inked between the Government of Guyana and the China Railway Construction Corporation Limited for the construction of the Mackenzie-Wismar Bridge in Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice).
That new four-lane, concrete, 220-metre-long bridge will establish the region as a major hub for logistics, connecting not only the regions in Guyana but other Caribbean nations as well.