MINISTER of Public Works Bishop Juan Edghill has announced the beginning of toll-free travel across the three main local bridges from midnight Thursday.
In a Facebook post, Minister Edghill said: “Pursuant to an earlier announcement by His Excellency President Irfaan Ali, I am pleased to inform all Guyanese that from midnight this evening, the Mackenzie/Wismar, Berbice and Demerara River Bridges will ALL be TOLL-FREE.”

In March, President Ali, during his address to thousands of persons gathered at Babu John, Berbice, to commemorate the life and legacy of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) founder and former President, Dr. Cheddi Jagan, had said: “This is investment; this is development.
“We did not even commit this to you in the election, but last year we said that we are going to make the crossing at the Wismar, Demerara and Berbice bridges free of cost…With effect from August 1, the crossing at the Demerara, Berbice and Wismar is free of cost.”
Currently, the toll to cross the Berbice River Bridge using a car is $1,900, while the toll to cross the Demerara River is $200. The cost for crossing the Wismar Bridge in Linden is $60. The toll varies for motorcycles and lorries.
President Ali had first made the commitment last August at the opening of a new throughway in Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara).
Currently, several massive infrastructural projects are being pursued to create new transportation links to help ease traffic woes, and promote inter-regional trade.
These projects include the building of the New Demerara Bridge, which will span approximately 2.65 kilometres with a driving surface width of around 23.6 metres.
The bridge will also feature two carriageways and four lanes.
Additionally, works are progressing on the new Wismar-Mackenzie Bridge in Linden.
The 220-metre-long edifice will have four lanes. Aside from these two major bridges, works are ongoing on several new highways.
As President Ali was quoted as saying: “Life and development is not about a seasonal gift; it’s about hard, tireless work. It’s never opportunistic; it’s about full commitment.”