The Ministry of Public Works will be working closely with a number of other government agencies to limit the impact of the upcoming three-day closure of the Demerara Harbour Bridge.

During a stakeholder consultation on Wednesday, it was announced that during the closure of the bridge, river taxis plying the Georgetown to Vreed-en-hoop route will be allowed to operate around the clock.

With the 24hrs water taxi service, security will be enhanced in the areas surrounding the stelling at Georgetown and Vreed-en-hoop, according to Minister of Public Works, Juan Edghill.

He said “the Police have always in the time of an emergency work with us to ensure that people can get over safe and they can move, and we anticipate that the Police with their expertise in law enforcement and logistics will work with the Bridge company to get things going”.

In addition, it was explained that flood lights will be erected at the landings on both sides of the river to provide additional security during the bridge closure.

Minister Edghill explained that in cases of medical emergencies, a water ambulance will be on stand-by in the Demerara river throughout the period.

The Demerara Harbour Bridge will be closed to all traffic from the 24th to the 27th July, to facilitate replacement of one of the main spans to the bridge.

In terms of businesses, the Minister is asking that suppliers and distributors of goods put additional storage systems in place on the West Demerara to cater for the bridge closure. Fuel companies are also being encouraged to do the same.

Over the three-day period, the Ministry of Public Works is also requesting the airlines to open up their check-in period earlier on the days of the bridge closures, to allow passengers who may be affected an earlier time to check-in for their flights.

“We are starting on midnight on the 24th…so the bridge will be operational until 11:58 on Monday the 24th July and at 11:59, the bridge will be closed and the work will begin on the 25th and the three days, the 72 hrs, will start to count from that time”, Edghill said.

Last year, the operations at the bridge were shut down after it was hit by a fuel tanker. That accident caused major damages and resulted in the closure of the bridge for several days.

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