— after being out of operation for a year

THE bridge at Barr Street, Albouystown, Georgetown, which has been out of operation for a year has been completed and tested and is likely to be officially opened on Monday.

The new $18M bridge has been redesign by Chung’s Global Construction Firm. The Barr Street Bridge serves as a key alternative to the La Penitence Public Road for vehicles coming from the East Bank of Demerara and heading to Central Georgetown.

The closure of the bridge contributes to a severe build-up of traffic in contiguous areas, and many of the streets in Albouystown are too narrow to accommodate two-way traffic.

Constituency 10 Councillor, Malcolm Ferreira, told the Guyana Chronicle on Wednesday that he believes that the vehicle tonnage allowed to cross the Albouys Street Bridge, which is the one just next to Barr Street, should be reduced as it has already been cracked in the middle.

The Albouys Street Bridge has been under pressure and a call has also been made to close it off completely since it is a looming danger. At the Council’s most recent statutory meeting, the City Engineer’s Department was tasked with producing an in-depth report on the actual state of the Albouys Street Bridge so that the correct decision can be taken on the way forward.

Just recently, Councillor Ferreira, had warned City Hall of impending danger that can result from the current state of the Albouys Street Bridge.

“That Albouys Street bridge; an old, clay-brick type structure, is cracked in the middle. At any moment, God forbid, it could collapse. We wouldn’t want that to happen. It could be dangerous,” he expressed.

He added: “There could be a dangerous precedence if we leave such a bridge to be opened to the public. It has a big split in the middle of it. We ask that you check it out for us so we can move forward with the proposals.”

Town Clerk, Royston King, in response, had observed that all of the bridges along Sussex Street have to be looked at and that there are other areas that are in desperate need of support as well.

“There are many other areas. There are some areas that we have completely neglected, while we’ve been giving support to others,” he stated. Cummings Lodge and Lodge are among the areas that work has to be concentrated, King pointed out.