Over laden trucks destroy Manari bridge

Feb 26, 2012 News

The lax enforcement of weight restrictions of vehicles traversing Linden to Lethem is once again being criticized by road users. This comes in light of an overloaded truck toppling over the damaged Manari Bridge on Thursday.
According to Leon Goring, Engineer, Public Works Ministry, one week prior to the accident, a contractor, Roger King, was contracted to rehabilitate the Manari Bridge. King is currently sourcing materials and is expected to commence construction soon, he added.
Goring noted that the contractor is tasked with upgrading the timber decking. He emphasized that the super structure of the bridge is strong with timber piles and other parts of the bridge still standing even after the accident.
Goring stressed that even with an upgraded structure like other bridges along the Linden to Lethem route its weight restriction would remain 20 tons. He asserted that the truck which was involved in this recent accident was in violation of the weight limit.
Goring assumed that from looking at the pictures of the accident the truck driver drove off the bridge’s runner thereby pressuring the decking, resulting in the truck toppling.
However, residents are convinced that if the bridge was not in a deplorable condition the truck would not have toppled. They emphasized that the driver heard a “cracking” noise before toppling over and dropping into the Manari Creek 25 feet below, which alone shows that the structure was weak.
They stressed that when the Ministry upgrades the structure it should have rails and other safety features such as reflectors to prevent accidents from occurring.
In fact, all bridges along the trail should have these features and weight restrictions must be enforced, a resident posited.
According to Goring, “We have regulated the weight to 20 tons and this is public knowledge but the question is enforcement. Once systems are in place it is a dual responsibility of the police and the Public Works Ministry to ensure the weight limits are obeyed.”
He noted that currently, most vehicles, specifically trucks, utilizing the Linden to Lethem stretch are weighed at the bridge at Wismar. However, this is not enough since truckers usually add more cargo along the trail. Monitoring the weight of vehicles along the trail is impossible since there are no weight bridges along the stretch, Goring added.
He pointed out that another issue drivers should consider is the number of hours they traverse from Georgetown to Lethem. Goring related that many vehicles heading to Lethem are controlled by one driver who navigates for about 11 hours and this is unsafe.

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