Tug-Harbour bridge collision: Over $10M required for repair

Guyana: Over $10 million will be spent on the repair of the Demerara Harbour Bridge which received damage after Sunday night’s incident in Guyana. The assessment of the repair cost was given by Public Works Minister Juan Edghill who said that this will be done by contractor.

On Sunday night, a tug and a barge being used at the construction of the new Demerara River Crossing of Guyana collided with the bridge, causing disruption in the work and operation of the bridge.

As per the reports, significant damages have occurred at the four buoys and two pontoons of the southern side of the Harbour Bridge due to the collision. After the incident, Edghill presented a report on the repair expenses and said that the contractor was culpable.

He mentioned that the situation became so tough as the tug was unable and inefficient to control the barge in such tidal conditions. The fault has been placed on the contractor, who was negligent during the operation or the construction work at the river crossing.

The contractor has also been asked to stand the cost and get the repair done at the Harbour bridge in collaboration with the authorities. Apart from the fixing of the bridge, Edghill mentioned that the tug and barge had been grounded by the Maritime Administration Department (MARAD), and it would get better after better safety mechanisms were installed.

The incident has also caused minimal disruption to the operation of the bridge as it also halted the flow of the river and vehicular traffic. The trucks are allowed to pass through the bridge as the authorities have been regulating the operating according to the weight of the truck.

Netizens expressed disappointment over the amount of the money needed for the repair and said that this is huge. One added,” 10 Million to fix this one. What happen with the boat that hit the bridge and had it shut down for 8 days. Did they ever paid for the damages?”

Another mentioned,” Here we go again 10 million wow.. these people know how to make money.. anyway money haffi mek that’s how the ppp roll.. I am talking about the C.. I am talking about the ppp the money making party.”