Demerara Harbour Bridge

The Demerara Harbour Bridge is a 6,074-foot (1,851 m) long floating toll bridge that crosses the Demerara River, joining Peter's Hall to Schoon Ord, Essequibo Islands-West Demerara. It was commissioned on 2 July 1978.^[1] There is a pedestrian footwalk, a raised section for small vessels and a retractor for large vessels.

Demerara Harbour Bridge
Demerara Harbour Bridge in 2019
Coordinates	6.771916°N 58.18744°W / 6.771916; -58.18744
Carries	Cars, pedestrians
Crosses	Demerara River
Locale	Peter's Hall (Georgetown) to Schoon Ord
Characteristics
Design	Pontoon bridge
Total length	7,000 metres (23,000 ft)
Height	7.9 metres (26 ft)
History
Opened	2 July 1978
Location

The bridge has 61 spans. A high-level span provides a horizontal clearance of 32.0 metres (105.0 feet) and a vertical clearance of 7.9 metres (26 feet) to let small craft pass at all times. To let large craft pass, two retractor spans retract fully once per day^[2] to leave a horizontal clearance of 77.4 metres (254 feet).

The number vehicles transiting per day was approximately 9,000 in 2015,^[1] and 14,000 as of 2017^[update].^[3]

Although the bridge was designed to last ten years, it has been so successful that it has inspired the Berbice Bridge, completed in 2008.

History

Construction of the Demerara Harbour Bridge began on 29 May 1976. The basic design was by Capt. John Patrick Coghlan, with construction assistance was provided by the British Government. The bridge was only designed to last 10 years, yet it is still in use.^[1][4] Tolls are collected only in east-to-west travel even though the bridge handles one lane of traffic in each direction.

On Monday 23 July 2012 at 06:45 Span 61, the western retractor span collapsed during maintenance work,^[5] causing it to partly sink, trapping a minibus. No injuries resulted but as all the larger ferries are decommissioned it caused major disruption.

Management

The Demerara Harbour Bridge is managed by the Management and Monitoring Unit, Demerara Harbour Bridge Rehabilitation Project (MMU), a subsidiary of the Ministry of Public Works (MPW). MMU, however functions independently of the MPW, and maintains a full staff responsible for maintenance, management, construction and operation. MMU also maintains financial independence based on revenue earned from tolls (vehicle and water-borne vessels). They have a staff of about 60 people.

New Demerara River Bridge

In December 2015 tenders were received from twenty-three international and local companies for a new bridge.^[1] In August 2017 plans were announced to construct a new bridge two kilometres north of the existing bridge, linking Houston on the eastern bank to Versailles on the western bank.^[6] However, breaches in procurement due to "unsolicited proposals" delayed plans.^[7] In 2020, a new request for bid was issued, with proposed connection between Nandy Park to the east and Meer Zorgen/La Grange to the west, and construction is now under way.^[8] The new Demerara Harbour Bridge project will be officially open on October 5, 2025. This four-lane, high-span, cable-stayed bridge spans 2.6 kilometers across the Demerara River, linking Region Three to Region Four. Built by China Railway Construction Corporation Limited at a cost of US$260 million, the bridge is designed to last 100 years and accommodate vehicles traveling at speeds up to 80 km/h—more than double the speed allowed on the aging Demerara Harbour Bridge it replaces.

See also

• List of bridges in Guyana