Concerns still linger over floating bridge for Berbice River
By Daniel Da Costa
Stabroek News
December 27, 2006
Even though the contract has already been awarded and the first shipment of pontoons was expected to arrive in the region last weekend several concerns still linger over the construction of a floating bridge across the Berbice river.
The US$38 million contract has been awarded to a European consortium - Rexroth Bosch Group and Mabey and Johnson and is expected to be completed within 18 months of commencement. The 1.55 km long structure will stretch from Crab Island on the eastern bank of the river to D' Edward on the western bank. The bridge will be owned by the Berbice Bridge Company which was incorporated in August 2005 for approximately 21 years. The six shareholders in the company are: the Colonial Life and General Insurance Company Limited, Hand-in-Hand Fire and Life Insurance Company Limited, Secure International Finance, Demerara Engineers and Contractors Ltd [a subsidiary of DDL], the New GPC Inc and the National Insurance Scheme.
Stabroek News has learnt that pile driving may commence in January and construction sometime around March. Geeta Singh, Chairman of the BCCI Board was quoted earlier this week as saying physical work on the bridge is expected to commence during the first half of next year. She is also quoted as saying "the project is in the final stage of the design phase and things are going according to schedule".
This newspaper has been reliably informed that there are discussions underway on some adjustments to the design of the bridge which could cause some possible delays. In last Tuesday's edition of Stabroek News the cost of the project was said to be US$40 million. In a two-page pullout published by the BCCI on May 14 last, the company said "prior to being deemed the Selected Contractor the consortium agreed to reduce their original tender [US$37.9 million] to bring it in line with BCCI's budget."
The terrain in the vicinity of Crab Island, the location of the bridge at the mouth of the river, siltation of the Canje River, the shipping channel, the Cotton Tree, Sluice, WCB and the bauxite transshipment basin, corrosion of the bridge's structure and the hazard it may pose to shipping are some of the concerns uppermost in the minds of many Berbicians and some engineers. According to official sources in the region the entire 900-acre Crab Island is sling mud and would create serious problems for any construction team seeking to execute anchorage and other works there. The life expectancy of a floating bridge is 30 years maximum while for a concrete structure it is 70 years.
The Louis Berger Group Inc. in its Feasibility Study of the Berbice River Crossing for the Government of Guyana said inter alia; "a floating bridge is more cumbersome to manage as it requires opening and closing and would require more staff". This newspaper has been informed that at least two companies which utilize the river on a regular basis have requested and may have been granted permission to access the crossing whenever their ships have to enter or exit the river. One source told this newspaper that bauxite barges may have to access the crossing at least three to four times per day.
According to the Louis Berger Executive Summary: "the floating bridge is the least expensive option and is a short term solution to bridging the river. In the long term the floating bridge can be easily removed to another location while a more permanent structure is built at the most appropriate location." In 1999 the Dutch company Ballast Nedam International on the request of the Government submitted a drawing showing the design of a pre-stressed concrete bridge located between No. 9 Village on the left bank and Brothers/Sisters on the right bank.
Discussions were also held on the cost of the bridge and a method of financing its construction. However no agreement was reached with the government. BNI has since completed the construction of a concrete bridge across the Suriname River at a cost of approximately US$70 million. In 2004 the government again requested a German company DYWIDAG International GMBH which was executing the rehabilitation of the East Coast/West Berbice highway and several bridges, to submit a proposal for a bridge across the Berbice River. The company submitted a design for a pre-stressed concrete bridge also at the site between No. 9 Village and Brothers/Sisters at a cost of US$34.6 million.
The Louis Berger study had recommended that the bauxite tugs and barges should pass under the retractor spans which would have a vertical clearance of 11.9 metres and a horizontal clearance of 41 metres. This, Stabroek News understands, has raised some eyebrows among those involved in the bauxite industry. The bridge is expected to float upon some 39 pontoons which will be thicker than those used on the Demerara Harbour Bridge. This according to BCI will result in significantly lower maintenance costs and reduce the possibility of corrosion. Approximately 3.5 kilometres of roadway is to be built on the eastern side of the river and 1 kilometre on the western bank under a US$11 million Inter-American Development Bank loan.
A number of prominent Berbicians with whom this newspaper spoke argued that the National Insurance Scheme Board should have consulted with contributors before committing some $1.5 billion of their money towards the project. The money they say belong to the contributors and not the Board and the risks involved in such a project could be very high. Patrick Martinborough, the Scheme's General Manager was quoted in April as saying "like many long-term investments the bridge project involves risk. We do not know for sure if it is a good investment - what looks good today may look bad tomorrow." He was quoted a few days earlier as saying "if the project proved uneconomical future generations would have a heavier financial burden to sustain the payment of pensions."
A government source then had put the cost of the project at US$43 million. In August 2005, the cost of the floating bridge had been estimated at US$26 million. In January 2005, President Bharrat Jagdeo was quoted as saying a floating structure was expected to cost some US$35 million. In December the BCCI said the total cost of the bridge was not expected to cost more than US$38 million.
Some New Amsterdamers are very concerned about the effects the location of the bridge would have on the future of the town. With the recent closure of the Everton Plant hundreds of employees have joined the bread-line and thousands have lost a bread-winner. Unemployment in the township is on the rise as every year hundreds of school leavers and trained technicians search in vain for a daily living. Businesses will no doubt suffer since new business centres will develop around the bridge on both sides of the river.
Maintenance: Figg Engineers Inc. of the United States in a 1997 study: "Bridge Type Study Report-Berbice River Crossing", noted that "for a movable bridge, the costs of maintenance and operations would be a continual burden for a country with little or no administrative infrastructure to keep trained repair technicians on staff and all repair components would have to be imported. This is not a practical solution compared to a fixed bridge with very little if any associated maintenance costs if built in concrete." According to the company the maintenance costs of movable bridges in Florida are 215 times greater than similar fixed spans. The Florida Department of Transportation it noted is in the process of replacing movable bridges with fixed bridges wherever possible. According to the Department the maintenance costs for fixed bridges average US$ 0.01 per square foot per year while similar costs for a movable structure average US$ 2.15 per square foot per year.
Referring to the Demerara Harbour Bridge and quoting official sources locally, the company said "the cost of operation and maintenance of the bridge less than 20 years after completion is quite large. In fact the cost of the recent repairs [prior to the study] is on the order of 150% of the original construction price.
The operation of the movable span creates hour-long delays for road traffic while the short spans constitute a hazardous barrier for ship traffic which has had a history of colliding with the bridge on many occasions." In conclusion the report noted "this clearly shows that this type of bridge has not proven cost -effective and in addition it is a hazard for ship traffic. Therefore the lessons learned from the history of the Demerara River bridge during its short service must be taken into account when evaluating different options for a new bridge across the Berbice River.