[www.inewsguyana.com] – While engineers have managed to rectify, temporarily, a malfunction to the Berbice River Bridge to allow for the passage of vehicles, vessels attempting to go through the bridge will have to wait until the issue is resolved definitely; allowing for scheduled bridge retractions.
This was confirmed today by both Public Works Minister Robeson Benn and Bridge officials, following the malfunction at the bridge that left several passengers stranded and saw a resort to the abandoned ferry service.
According to officials at the Bridge there are no vessels schedulde to pass today or tomorrow while Benn anticipates that the issue, involving a Retractor Span, will be resolved within days.
Benn told reporters this morning that engineers at the Berbice Bridge Company Inc informed him just after 18:00 hours yesterday of what had happened and later received help from engineers attached to the Demerara Harbour Bridge (DHB) and the Guyana Sugar corporation (GuySuCo).
“It appears as though the programmable logic controller on one of the units which close the bridge develop a defect and it could not close after a vessel passed,” Benn said.
He clarified that it’s a temporary fix that will not allow for river traffic as work continues to fix the issue.
He said he knows the company has been in contact with the builders of the bridge and suppliers of parts and expects full recovery within a few days.
The Management of the Berbice Bridge Company Inc. said in a release last night that it sincerely regrets and apologies for the inconvenience caused.
A further update is expected later this afternoon.
If this bridge is to be considered the thesis then the candidate doesn’t get the doctorate! Floating bridges shouldn’t be put in locations which have such tidal situations.
This bridge will forever have problems with the retractor spans because of its location which is geographically in the Atlantic Ocean. It is subjected to much force from the Atlantic which causes 100% of its problems.
The abandonment of the Rosignol/New Amsterdam Ferry further escalates the inconvenience to the traveling public.
Either enough study wasn’t done before its erection or there were other considerations and motivations for its current site.