Latest update November 8th, 2024 1:00 AM
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Lions Club bridge in N/A poses danger to users; club says no funds to repair
The New Amsterdam Lions Club says that it does not have the necessary funds to repair a dilapidated steel bridge that connects Republic Road to Vryman’s Erven in New Amsterdam.
The dilapidated Lions Club Bridge in New Amsterdam
The steel bridge, which has been deemed as a human trap, was built in 1992 by the Lions Club as a service project but its condition has deteriorated over time.
President of the N/A Lions Club, Marlyn La Rose, has said that the organisation is cash strapped and that all funds raised at fundraisers are quickly used up on the various service projects they undertake. She added that the club is aware of the bridge posing a risk to pedestrians and cyclists but that nothing much can be done at this time.
“We have taken action to write the N/A Town Council. Their position is that they say they do not have the funds to do it,” she said.
According to La Rose, an estimate of about $600,000 was submitted to the town council by a member of the Lions Club who owns a steel workshop. The letter has since been forwarded to Georgetown but no response has been forthcoming.
The organization also wrote a letter for assistance from the Region Six Administration but that, too, proved futile. Several attempts to contact Zulfikar Mustapha, on Thursday, were unsuccessful.
La Rose further added that they had hoped to take advantage of the scrap-metal trade buy selling the old plates that remained on the bridge and buy new ones but the trade has been outlawed.
“According to the tonnage and so, the cost factor, we could have gotten something [for the old plates]”, she said.
“We know it’s [the bridge] a trap. The thing is, people do some very scary things. There was a young fella with a baby on his leg, riding across. We try to tell people. We know when it is going to be highlighted is when somebody gets injured”, she posited.
Among the projects the club is trying to undertake for the big 50th anniversary celebrations of the N/A Lions Club are the rebuilding of a dilapidated bus- shed at Berbice High School as well as two benches in the Vryman’s Erven walkway area. (Leon Suseran)
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