Vehicles weighing 18 tonnes and under to cross Harbour Bridge between midnight and 4am

The Ministry of Public Works on Tuesday said that vehicles weighing 18 tonnes and under would be able to transit the Demerara Harbour Bridge between midnight and 4:00h under a special arrangement.

In a statement, Minister of Public Works Juan Edghill said that following another inspection by Structural Engineers, the bridge’s Management Team was advised that the retractor span could accommodate 18 tonnes with specific restrictions.

“Firstly, Structural Engineers are recommending that the weight of 18 tonnes and under be allowed to cross the bridge, but only between the hours of 00:00hrs to 04:00hrs, when there is far less traffic on the bridge.

“There is also a stipulation with the speed limit; drivers must adhere to the speed limit of 32KMH while traversing in one direction at a time,” the Minister has made clear.

The Minister says Shift Supervisors, along with the Special Constabulary Ranks, will be closely monitoring the transit of vehicles on the bridge to ensure adherence to the special arrangements.

“I want to reiterate my gratitude to commuters and drivers for their patience during this unexpected ordeal and urge them to use the bridge with care, I implore you to follow the rules, your safety is very important, and we want you to reach your destination safely,” Minister Edghill noted.

At about 02:00h Saturday morning, fuel tanker MV Tradewind Passion, which is assigned to GuyOil, collided with the Demerara Harbour Bridge, rendering it inoperable.

After working around the clock, contractors managed to reopen the floating structure to light vehicular traffic from 21:00h on Monday.

A Board of Inquiry (BoI) has been commissioned to investigate the circumstances which led to Saturday’s accident.