JUST IN: Speedboats to operate all night from Stabroek to Vreed-en-hoop

To facilitate the proposed six hours closure of the Demerara Harbour Bridge to vehicular traffic tonight (Saturday, November 20, 2021), speedboats will be allowed the ply the Stabroek to Vreed-en-hoop route all night.

According to an advisory from the DHB, “during the closure…water taxi will be operating from Georgetown stelling to Vreed-en-hoop stelling throughout the night.”

The Harbour bridge will be closed to facilitate repairs to the retractor spans from midnight to 6:00h on Sunday. The bridge linking Regions Three and Four was also closed for the same period on Saturday to undertake works.

In a recent notice, the DHB said the Retractor Spans 9 &10, which are retracted daily for sea-going vessels, is the most critical section of the bridge which absorbs the most wear and tear.

It noted that earlier this year, a contract was awarded to Industrial Fabrications Inc. (InFab) for the design, fabrication and installation of Retractor Span 9. The company has since completed their offsite design and fabrication works and is now ready to work onsite i.e., to remove and replace damaged components.

The DHB management further stated that it will be extremely unsafe to commute during this time.

According to the Notice, “the general objective of the Rehabilitation project is to restore the retractor spans by eliminating the existing structural deficiencies and reconstruct retractor span 9 so as to improve the bridge’s condition, geometrics, safety, and load-carrying capacity.”

While the management noted that it is conscious of the inconvenience this closure will cause to commuters, it stated that “in the interest of safety, Spans 9 and 10 have to be rehabilitated without delay.”