| Heavy duty and speeding trucks caused many problems for the Demerara Harbour Bridge during 2008, and the management of the facility is seeking to address traffic concerns during this year.General Manager of the DHB, Rawlston Adams, during a recent press conference, said that in 2008 there were a number of problems occurring at the bridge,Cheap Baseball Jerseys, with the major one being extensive damage to equipment during a lightning strike in July last.This incident, he said, caused a number of disruptions to the facility.However, this was compounded by the fact that drivers, especially those operating lorries, were using the bridge carelessly.He noted that the impact speeding has on the bridge is more than one can imagine.During the past year, $258M of the total revenue of $268 collected from tolls was expended on the facility.“Earlier in the year, we were running at a loss, so this surplus can be attributed to the fact that we had an increase in our revenue,” he said.Construction of four pontoons, the rehabilitation of 79 pontoons, fabrications of decks and repairs to tugs were carried out during the past year.The programme for 2009 will see the inspection and replacement of a number of components at the facility, he added.The General Manager said that there will also be continued rehabilitation of deck plates during this year.“We are crossing an average of 6,000 vehicles per day going in the eastern direction, and an average of 90 percent of that figure is returning…managing that number of vehicles poses many traffic concerns.”Traffic management, he stated, is something that is being ‘seriously’ re-examined during this year.“One of the issues we are faced with this year is that, as the traffic increases,Jerseys Wholesale, our retraction time decreases… in 2009, we want to go into an in-depth study to look at ways and means we can address our traffic management issues.”In this regard, Adams said,Wholesale NFL Jerseys, management is trying to divert as much marine traffic as possible from the retractor span to the high span.Adams is urging drivers to adhere to speed limits and to the ‘no overtaking signs,’ as disregarding these also causes many problems to the facility.And at the Berbice River estuary,NBA Jerseys From China, President Bharrat Jagdeo, during the opening of the Berbice River Bridge,Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping, had promised that, within the next two months, the access road on the eastern side would be completed.However, Minister of Transport and Hydraulics, Robeson Benn,wholesale jerseys, has since stated that the road will not be completed until April.Minister Benn said that the weather caused major problems at the eastern approach to the bridge.He added that, because of the soil in the area, there was need to insert vertical drains to make the soil stable. |
