Engineers scramble to fix Harbour Bridge retractor span winch

Oct 31, 2017 News

The winch being removed for repairs yesterday

Engineers are working around the clock to fix a broken winch that is critical in opening and closing the retractor span at the Demerara Harbour Bridge.
The winch developed a fault Sunday after work had been completed to switch a pontoon the day before at the span. The problems occurred while tests were being carried out.
The fault if not fixed in time for today’s scheduled opening of the bridge to river traffic at 14:30 hours, could impact supplies of oil for the Guyana Power and Light Inc. and fuel ships to the Providence terminals.
Also expected to be affected are vessels fetching bauxite from Linden and sand from along the East Bank Demerara.
Yesterday, the winch which is affixed to the new pontoon, was removed and rushed down to Infab, East Coast Demerara, where it will be dismantled to determine the fault.
Infab and E.C. Vieira Investments both have similar winches and the idea is to use parts.
According to General Manager of the bridge, Rawlston Adams, on Sunday, it was found that the hydraulic winch was not holding the pressure and it is suspected that there was a damaged gear.
The winch is one of eight which helps to retract a section of the bridge to allow ships to pass through.
Adams, yesterday, said that the management of the bridge has learnt some lessons.
While it is expected that motors on the winches would go bad and there are spares, there were little provisions for a gear being damaged.
The assessment may very well see the bridge stocking gears for winches, to prevent a reoccurrence, as well as more maintenance and vigilance to the operations of those winches.
Adams was quick to point out that while checks are still being conducted to diagnose the faults, it was a problem that could not be immediately foreseen.
The bridge’s engineers were supposed to work through the night to determine and fix the problem.
Currently, on average, four vessels would pass through the bridge, daily.
The 40-year-old structure, a modular one, has long outlived its usefulness, and comprise mainly of panels, beams and pontoons…anything that can go bad will go bad, Adams said. With regards to night retractions introduced months ago, the official admitted that a few vessels are not comfortable with maneuvering the waters in the late hours.
There would be deep concerns over the bridge’s operations and its problems.
It is unable to handle the volume of traffic daily…almost 10,000 vehicles cross…with congestion a major problem.
While the administration is moving to start building a new bridge between Versailles and Houston as early as next year, Guyana is praying that the current one between Peter’s Hall and La Grange continue to perform.

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