COMPONENTS of the old Demerara Harbour Bridge will be used to connect the Essequibo River Islands of Leguan and Wakenaam, reducing cumbersome travel times for hundreds of commuters who frequently traverse from Regions Two to Three.
This was on Friday announced by Public Works Minister, Juan Edghill at the commissioning of the MV Konawaruk 1899 ferry.
He noted that a team of engineers have been established to determine the best alignment to connect the islands.
“We will be removing components of the Demerara Harbour Bridge to link Leguan and Wakenaam, so the ferry crossing will be Leguan, Wakenaam, Supenaam, and it will be much faster, and the transit time will be significantly reduced bringing improvements and connectivity to the people of the islands and that is the overall vision of what we will be doing,” the Minister said.
Minister Edghill had previously stated that components of the old bridge will also be moved downriver to create a new link between Timehri, East Bank Demerara, and Sandhills.
Last year, Edghill had said sections of the bridge might also be repurposed to span the Berbice River at Kwakwani, Region 10.
He later told reporters that further plans will be outlined in the 2026 fiscal package including this this and several other significant infrastructure developments.
He stressed that these projects would see massive transformation, unlocking opportunities in trade, tourism and agriculture.
The new Demerara River Bridge was commissioned in October and formally named after Guyana’s Vice-President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo.
