Ministry seeking environmental authorization for new Wismar/Mackenzie bridge
The Ministry of Public Infrastructure (MoPI) is seeking an environmental authorization from the Environment Protection Agency (EPA) for the proposed construction of a new bridge at Wismar/Mackenzie.
According to an EPA notice published in yesterday’s Guyana Chronicle, the proposed bridge to be constructed will link the communities of Wismar and Mackenzie. The notice said that the project may entail but will not be limited to excavation works, concrete works, steel fabrication and pile driving. It is therefore envisaged that these activities may have some environmental impacts on the surrounding community, the notice said. An environmental impact assessment (EIA) is therefore required.
Members of the public are therefore invited to make written submissions within 28 days of yesterday’s notice setting out questions and matters they would like to have addressed in an EIA. Comments should be addressed to the EPA in Ganges Street, Sophia.
In October of 2017, questions were raised about the soundness of the bridge and engineers from MoPI deemed the then fifty-year-old Bridge to be structurally sound.
The engineers’ inspection of the bridge had been requested following a meeting of Linden residents with Finance Minister Winston Jordan and then Minister within the Ministry of Communities Valerie Patterson-Yearwood. The matter had been raised following the posting of photographs of what appeared to be rust underneath the bridge on social media by Councillor Lennox Gasper.
According to the engineers, the bridge was structurally sound, and the supports of the bridge that were submerged in the water were in good shape. However, the supports above the water had rust on them. They stated that the rust on the bridge can be attributed to the bauxite dust that blows over from the Bosai Minerals Inc operation that’s located a short distance away from the bridge, and advised that proper maintenance below the bridge is needed. The engineers suggested that power hose washing or sandblasting of the rusted parts below the bridge will give it a more refined look.
However, the engineers said that the heavy amount of traffic utilising the bridge was a potential problem. The engineers had noted that this underscores the need for another bridge or another lane. The team had promised to compile a comprehensive report on the bridge, and to inspect it every three months. After six months, they said they would be able to say whether the bridge is sinking or moving.
When asked for his view in October 2017, Councillor Gasper responded that in light of all that the engineers had to say with respect to the soundness of the structure, he still questioned the life span since the bridge was constructed in 1967, and wondered how much longer the bridge can last, considering what it was constructed for fifty years ago.
“Linden needs a new bridge and if there are talks about a road from Linden to Lethem, then we cannot complete the talk if we don’t talk about a new bridge and the Linden Soesdyke Highway,” Gasper opined.