The Mackenzie/Wismar bridge at Linden was closed  yesterday afternoon for more than two hours when a freight carrier transporting  a 17 ft wide x 44 ft long, 15 ft high electrical control panel got stuck at the mid-section of the bridge.

The stuck freight carrier

Trail Boss was contracted by OMAI to transport the panels through Linden to Georgetown.  Engineers on the ground said that three weeks ago the first panel with the same specifications was transported across the bridge without any trouble. However it was an oversight that the freight carrier which was transporting the second panel was lower than the one used three weeks ago.

Bridge attendants on duty at the time said that they attempted to stop the driver from crossing because they were convinced that it was impossible to pass the mid section of the bridge but they were ignored and police proceeded to escort it across the bridge.
For hours  traffic was prevented from crossing. Among those delayed were Minister of Agriculture Robert Persaud and his team who were in Linden for a meeting with farmers on the Wismar shore and Regional Chairman Mortimer Mingo who was also present at the meeting.

A front-end loader was used to aid in removing the blockage which resulted in the flow of traffic returning to normal.