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New Demerara River Bridge to be operational early September – Pres. Ali
President Ali speaking to reporters, moments before the final pouring of concrete (DPI)
Kaieteur News – The new Demerara River Harbour Bridge will be commissioned early September, President Irfaan Ali announced Thursday morning.
The head-of-state and a team of officials poured the final set of concrete into place on the bridge’s main span in the wee hours of Thursday. The bridge is now fully connected from east to west, the Department of Public Information (DPI) reported.
“This landmark project is yet another infrastructural feat by the PPP/C administration, which stands to benefit thousands of Guyanese for generations to come. The new crossing, which is set to be commissioned in a matter of days, consists of four lanes and spans 2.6 kilometres, connecting Nandy Park on the East Bank of Demerara to La Grange on the West Bank,” DPI said in its report.
At its highest point, the bridge is 50 metres, which means Handymax vessels can pass comfortably underneath. With a lifespan of 100 years, the bridge is expected to mitigate current traffic woes and congestion.
In his brief remarks at the site, President Ali acknowledged the momentous occasion while thanking the local and international teams for their tremendous work on the project.
“Together, we’ve achieved an incredible piece of infrastructure for Guyana, and we’ve been able to achieve this because of the teamwork and the hard work of this team,” he said.
Now that the pouring of the concrete into place has been completed, the construction team will proceed to complete safety features on the main span which includes inserting rails and dividers between the four lanes.
“There’s one section of the entrance that will be completed, and of course we had some modifications of the design…for better traffic management and traffic flow…so I would say very early in September, we will be driving on and off of the bridge,” President Ali said.
Operation of the new crossing will be on a 24/7 basis and it will be toll free. The structure is able to accommodate vehicles of all sizes and weights, with a maximum speed limit of 80 kilometres per hour.
The design will feature the Cacique Crown of Honour (CCH), which the country’s second-highest national award in the Order of Service.
It is expected that there will be more than 50,000 daily commuters benefitting from the new bridge, resulting in an estimated $3.5 billion in annual savings.
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