The Ministry of Public Infrastructure, Coordinator of Works, Geoffrey Vaughn says the Good Hope Bridge is soon to be completed.
He was responding to criticisms by commuters who are peeved that they are doing several road projects on the East Coast of Demerara at once, thereby impeding the flow of traffic during the peak hours of travel.
In an interview on Thursday, Vaughn explained that the project is nearing its completion, and the bridge is expected to be operational by the end of April or the first week in May.
He explained that he even heard criticisms about the project, since it affects the free flow of traffic but highlighted that “we have created access which people can use, which is access to the other road. There is nothing else we can do at this time but ensure we have proper traffic management, which is being done…”
“Right now, they are putting in some of the other aspects of the bridge, which (are) the columns and the beams and so on. Right now, we are hoping that we have GPL (Guyana Power and Light) to do some removal of some wires that (are) within the areas (where the crane is operating). Once those get removed, we should be able to start moving at a faster pace.”
This media group had received complaints from several commuters, who expressed grave dissatisfaction in regard to the project, mainly since it has an adverse effect on the traffic, especially during peak hours.
Rehabilitation of the Good Hope Bridge started last week, and is being undertaken by BK International. Some $23.5 million is reportedly being expended on this project.
The project includes demolition of the old Acrow Panel structure and reconstruction of a concrete one.
Vaughn thus noted: “When we change from the Acrow Panel bridges to the free stress concrete bridges, there is no disruption to traffic, no maintenance issues, and everything flows smoothly. We don’t expect to have any problems with the bridge in the near future”.
It was also explained that the Good Hope Bridge, along with the Annandale and Lusignan bridges, should have been rehabilitated since last year, but there were challenges with regard to the traffic.
