Completion of new Demerara River Bridge pushed back to March 2025
A section of the bridge that is under construction
Kaieteur News – Minister of Public Works, Juan Edghill on Thursday disclosed that the completion of the US$260 million New Demerara River Bridge was pushed back to March 31, 2025.
The bridge, which is being built by China Railway Construction Corporation Limited, was slated to be completed by the end of this year, however, according to the minister, logistical challenges have hampered the completion deadline.
To date, the bridge is almost 70 percent completed. The Department of Public Information (DPI) reported that Minister Edghill inspected the ongoing construction on the eastern side of the bridge on Thursday. “It must never be lost in terms of our focus. This new Demerara bridge is a signature of the transformative project, because of the benefits that it will bring to thousands of people, and every day we are seeing that it will become a reality,” the minister stated.
Substantial work has already been done on the temporary working platforms, along with the placement of drilled shafts, pile caps, piers, and tower legs, among other crucial constructions. The bridge was built with a 300-metre width safety passageway instead of 100-metre, to minimise any possible collision. The foundation structure has also been built with certain materials that are strong enough to facilitate impacts.
Minister Edghill explained that technical engineers of the contracting company have since travelled to China, to test other components and materials that are needed to advance the project. The last shipment of these materials is expected to be in the country by October.
Additionally, in the contract, the company has to do 5o metres of road on both the eastern and western sides of the bridge. “They have already created 50 metres of road…We can tell you that we are at an advanced procurement stage on the road. It is already at the place of signing the contract,” the minister revealed. He further added that there are also connector roads that have been built to facilitate the flow of traffic on the Heroes Highway and the East Bank of Demerara.
