Inclement weather prevented the early completion of the eastern end of the Berbice River Bridge access road at Palmyra, thus preventing a simultaneous commissioning, Coordinator of the Ministry of Public Works Work Services Group Rickford Lowe has explained.

The non-completion of this stretch of road has generated much debate, but Lowe and Transport Minister Robeson Benn have sought to give reasons for the delay. Acknowledging that the access roads were only completed to a stage where light traffic could be accommodated, Lowe told reporters at an end-of-year press conference held by the ministry that the road project’s final completion date was April.

The partial completion, he said, was a substantial achievement since while both the bridge and the access roads were expected to have similar project durations, the bridge had a head start of some 8 months.

According to him, the road project was always expected to be a difficult and complicated project given the ground conditions and frequent inundations at high tide.

Benn added that there had been issues of financing for the roads in relation to high bids and the money that was available. Despite the amount of work done to prepare the soil for the road, Benn said there were still a few problems since some areas were still higher than anticipated.

Asked then about the purpose of the feasibility study, Benn pointed out that there were some problems with the supply of material, which he concluded were normal challenges in the scheme of things.

The road project is being executed under financing from the Inter-American Development Bank at a contract sum of US$9.4 million.

The bridge was commissioned on December 23 at a well-attended ceremony which attracted a number of excited Berbicians.

The surface of the bridge is coated with an epoxy resin overlaid with calcined bauxite, making the bridge virtually skid free.

Also, cameras will be placed strategically to detect speeding and those caught speeding will be fined and they could also be banned if they persist. The speed limit on the bridge is set at 50 kilometres per hour (30 miles per hour).