The management of the Demerara Harbour Bridge Corporation (DHBC) this afternoon announced the successful completion of maintenance works to replace a pontoon supporting the critical western section of the retractor span. The announcement was made after a final systems check at 13:00h.
The works, jointly carried out by engineers and staff of the DHBC and Industrial Fabrication Inc. (InFab), were completed within the projected timeframe. During the exercise, there were no disruptions to either marine or road traffic outside of the planned six-hour period on Saturday June 17.
Speaking after the systems check, DHBC General Manager Rawlston Adams said that “…the successful execution of the project was a result of careful planning over several months and good coordination among the various departments and contractor InFab.”
The replaced pontoon, in addition to supporting the western section of the retractor span of the bridge also houses the electrical and hydraulic systems that control the retraction of the bridge. These systems had to be removed from the decommissioned pontoon and reinstalled on the new pontoon in order for the scheduled retractions to resume on schedule.
Adams added that, “It was important that the project be completed over the weekend so that normal operations could resume today without affecting commercial, educational and other activities that are served by this bridge linking Regions Three and Four. In the end, we achieved that with time to spare. And because of our diligence we also achieved it without accident or incident.”
The last time that this pontoon was replaced was eighteen years ago. The corresponding pontoon on the eastern side of the retractor span will be replaced in the near future.