Can Govt. make alternative arrangements if the bridge collapses?

Mar 09, 2017 Letters

Dear Editor,
Two weeks ago I climbed in a mini bus just after 2 PM in the afternoon, with the intention of heading across the Demerara River to visit relatives at No. One Canal. After a smooth ride up the East Bank, the bus turned into the entrance of the Harbor Bridge. There the commotion began. There were lanes of traffic backed up to the East Bank road since the Bridge was open for river traffic. Okay, not a biggie, thought I. Given the lanes of backed up traffic to the toll booths, I figure the bridge was closed for a while and would soon be open to vehicular traffic.
One hot sweltering hour later, having passed the hour with everyone else squished up in the mini bus and listening to two drivers cussing each other out because one would not move up to allow another to drive out onto the public road, we were all still there waiting patiently for the bridge to open. Someone mentioned that they were working on something on the bridge. Everyone else waited patiently since their homes were on the other side of the river.
After another half hour I had had enough and bailed out of the bus, paid the driver and caught a Timehri bus heading back to town. As we drove north there were two or three lanes of traffic from the bridge, lining the roadway, all the way past Eccles and Agricola. The line extended as far as the DIH complex.
Then I got to thinking; what if something did go wrong with the Harbor Bridge and traffic could not traverse it. Does Government have any contingency plans to get people across the river? Can they, in a few hours get the ferry working from the two stellings? I doubt it; given the state of both stellings. Apart from the speed boats, how can people and cargo get across the river if the aging bridge fails? It makes it all the more urgent that the new bridge be built ASAP. Don’t let us wait for the old clanker we currently rely on to fail us. Remember, it is long past its expiration date.
Malcolm Alves

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