InFab to undertake emergency repairs on harbour bridge

Emergency repairs to rectify defects at spans 9 &10 and other damage to the Demerara Harbour Bridge are scheduled to commence soon, Minister of Public Works Juan Edghill said yesterday.

He noted that tenders from contractors to execute the works have been evaluated and Cabinet has given its no-objection to the award of the contract. The decision was made last Thursday.

The contract is being awarded to Industrial Fabrication Inc (InFab).

According to Edghill, the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board will now be tasked with preparing the necessary documentation and to have the contract awarded. The Minister said that he expects to see works commence as soon as possible given the importance and urgency of the defects to be remedied.

Edghill had explained that these spans which are also the retractor spans have deteriorated due to age and other factors.

“A lot of recklessness has occurred over the years, vessels speeding through during retractions, trucks overladen, excess speed by trucks, all these have been contributing factors to the deterioration and misalignment of the bridge,” the minister had previously told this newspaper. In April, the bridge had seen unscheduled closures to facilitate emergency repairs.

In late March, Edghill along with a team of engineers and officials from the Bridge Corporation inspected the damage to span nine.

A sum of $890 million was approved to purchase 20 pontoons and rehabilitate span nine of the bridge in this year’s budget.

During 2019 and 2020, barges had crashed into the bridge resulting in extensive damage and massive traffic congestion on both the East and West Bank of Demerara. Since then the bridge corporation was forced to impose weight restrictions and a staggered system to ensure the bridge is at no time overburdened.