Solutions to Demerara River crossing

Sep 17, 2017 Letters

---

Dear Editor,
I find it incumbent on me, as former Minister of Public Works, to join the discussion with respect to the national goal of achieving an improved and efficient New Demerara Harbour Bridge. In so doing, I would like to recall, share and remind ourselves of the issues, under active consideration and staged implementation, for the gradual improvement for crossing of the Demerara River near Georgetown.
The necessity for improvement has been driven by the significant annual increase in the numbers, sizes and types of commuter, service and goods transport required in response to a growing economy over the years. For the Harbour Bridge itself, daily crossings had increased from some 14,000 to near 20,000, particularly at holiday and sporting and cultural event peaks. Near term projections in 2013 had indicated that with the then current trends, the Demerara Harbour Bridge was maxed-out for efficient crossing of the river and that responses had to be undertaken to avoid it becoming a major bottleneck in the transport sector.
1) Improvements at the Demerara Harbour Bridge. Improvements at the DHB resulted in better budgetary inputs, on an annual basis for pontoons, moorings, approaches and deck replacement and re-surfacing. The introduction of one –way traffic, at the timings of, and in the direction of peak flow was achieved providing for the most important intervention, to date, to alleviate the congestion issue. Improvement in traffic management, with the major input being from the Guyana Police Force, has been achieved with some qualifications.
Improvements considered and pending include:
– Peak-hour ride sharing with peak toll payments on the western end for vehicles which do not meet the ride-sharing parameters.
– Pre-paid electronic recognition and rapid access via dedicated toll gates.
– Free large bus transfer at peaks over bridge from western end to eastern end with terminations at Houston and Providence.
– Geometric improvements at eastern end to achieve continuous, seamless, unrestricted exit northwards from bridge to East Bank Highway, and similar westward access to bridge from the EastBank Highway.
– Associated improvements related to the installation of pedestrian overpasses on the East Bank and the gradual reduction and eventual cessation of garbage and sand truck transits. Garbage to be disposed of in region of origin, thereby not going to Haags Bosch, and sand movement, down and across the river, by barge traffic.
2) Improvements in Water Taxi Service. Improvements in the Water Taxi Service related to improvements in safety, comfort, ambience and efficiency of the units owned and operated privately. A complete redesign of the standard boat was initiated by the production of a prototype by the Maritime Administration Department. The requirement for installed flotation spaces and the fitting of inner transoms, splashguards and sheds eliminated the safety and comfort issues. The all-round improvements, in the level and quality of service, have resulted in a major increase in the confidence in and utilization of water taxis. This has cemented their place as a significant and a continuing viable adjunct to river crossing options for commuters, on foot or parking and riding, between the city and Vreed-en-Hoop. The introduction of after dusk services was implemented to 22:00 hours with the provision of suitable visibility and navigation lighting.
Improvements considered and pending include:
– The installation of floating docking and berthing systems at Stabroek and Vreed-en-Hoop Stellings to improve access and rapid turnaround, eliminating difficulties for commuters and system efficiency, on daily tidal variations and particularly at the spring tides.
– The search to establish new Water Taxi service landings was initiated to ease the length, time and cost to commute for persons wishing to cross immediately from areas on the West Bank of Demerara. Sites looked at were Diamond/Grove, Providence/Mocha, La Grange and Wales.
3) Reintroduction of Transport and Harbours Ferry Service Stabroek/Vreed-en Hoop. Consideration was actively given to the reintroduction of the THD Demerara ferry service plying Stabroek to Vreed-en-Hoop as the next medium term intervention for vehicular traffic as a congestion ease or back up to the DHB issues. In furtherance of this, a visit was made to the United States of America to examine for possible purchase the MV “Twin Capes”, owned by, and on offer from, the Delaware River and Bay Authority.
This vessel had the capacity to take 895 passengers and 100 cars, or equivalents, in a comfortable roll-off roll-on mode for rapid transit operations. A modest utilisation of ten round trips per day at peak hours would have largely eliminated the peak congestion at the DHB. Unfortunately this initiative fell afoul of the cutting and pasting of funds engendered by parliamentary budget cuts and went into abeyance with the coming of the 2015 Elections.
The rehabilitation and upgrade to the Stabroek and Vreed-en-Hoop Stellings were a necessary part of this idea.
4) Replacement of the Demerara Harbour Bridge. Former President Jagdeo, initiated the renewed effort to resolve the issue of a DHB replacement to provide for the national infrastructural responses necessary for continued growth and development. The government and the Ministry’s response were clarified in National Transport Sector Policy documents.
In 2013, the Ministry of Public Works initiated a Pre-Feasibility Study for A New Demerara River Bridge. This study was under taken by Dr. Raymond Charles, a University Of The West Indies Professor in Transport Studies, as consultant along with the Central Transport Planning Unit of the Ministry. Much data and other information was provided by the Ministry of Public Work’s Works Services Group’s sections, the Demerara Harbour Bridge Corporation and the MARAD, amongst others.The study was required to determine the options for bridge crossing of the Demerara River with a view to improve both surface land and marine traffic efficiencies going well into the future.
Three sites were examined during this study. These were: Peter’s Hall/Meer Zorgen (the current Peter’s Hall DHB site); Houston/Versailles; and New Hope/Laurentia Catherinia. For the Peter’s Hall site, two options were considered, one being continued operation, rehabilitation and maintenance of the DHB in its present form and, the other option being the construction of a new floating, four lane bridge adjacent to the current bridge. For both the Houston and New Hope sites the establishment of a new four lane fixed bridge structure was considered.
Houston/Versailles was identified, in the study as being the most feasible site at a capital cost of some US$260 million. The study recommended the pursuance of a detailed feasibility study “…to incorporate exogenous costs and benefits, as well as a financial analysis to address the concerns of project financing and environmental impacts. Issues related to the land acquisition costs for integration of the bridge with the road network and the amount of work needed to achieve this integration, as additional expenses were immediately apparent. The next step of undertaking geotechnical studies was not accepted at cabinet, nor pursued in any form. The principal reason being the high cost and burden to the Treasury and income flows for such an undertaking.
Robeson Benn

---

---