Repair of steel beams shuts down Harbour Bridge for 8 hours

The Demerara Harbour Bridge was closed for eight hours between Saturday night and Sunday morning as repair works went longer than scheduled.

According to a notice from the company, the bridge was scheduled to be closed from 23:00hrs on Saturday to 04:00hrs on Sunday, however, this was delayed by another three hours.

“We had planned to finish the work in four to five hours but the work would have gone beyond that time because we had to work with some beams that were badly formed and to get the beams out from the position, it took longer than was expected,” General Manager of the bridge, Wayne Watson told the News Room on Sunday.

Watson further explained that the steel beams had to be removed from below the retractor span 10 ramp and as a result, the ramp had to be removed to get access to the beams.

The delayed opening of the bridge caused a huge build-up of traffic affecting thousands of commuters. The Demerara Harbour Bridge is the main transportation link for Regions Three and Four.

Last weekend, engineers encountered mechanical problems while conducting repairs to retractor spans; this also resulted in a major build-up of traffic, much to the displeasure of commuters.

For years, the Demerara Harbour Bridge has been plagued with mechanical issues and accidents; the more than 40-year-old structure has already outlived its lifespan and is showing signs of serious deterioration.