HGP Nightly News: The Ministry of Public Works has moved to reassure the public that the Bharrat Jagdeo Demerara River Bridge remains structurally sound, following claims by the political movement VPAC that the new bridge is already showing signs of defects just months after opening.
In a statement issued this week, the Ministry said ongoing monitoring of settlement observation points along the bridge has confirmed that there has been no abnormal settlement in the foundations. According to the Ministry, all available data indicate that the bridge is safe, stable, and fully reliable for public use.
The Ministry addressed reports of uneven sections on the bridge surface, explaining that technical investigations found these irregularities to be limited to localized pavement flatness variations associated with the asphalt construction process. Officials stressed that the issue affects only the surface layer of the roadway and does not compromise the bridge’s structural integrity or load-bearing capacity.
The Ministry also acknowledged pavement undulation near the eastern approach bridge abutment, attributing it to the transition zone where sand embankment fill meets the concrete abutment structure. Differences in material behavior, the Ministry said, can lead to varying settlement patterns that temporarily create elevation differences. Contractors have since been instructed to carry out remedial works to restore a smoother driving surface.
While welcoming public vigilance, the Ministry maintained that the bridge is being professionally managed and monitored, and that public safety remains its highest priority.
The reassurance comes amid public commentary from VPAC, which earlier claimed that visible surface depressions and uneven roadway transitions had emerged less than four months after the bridge opened. In a separate statement, VPAC described these observations as signs of premature distress and raised concerns about construction quality and adherence to engineering standards.
VPAC has called on the Ministry to activate the defects liability provisions contained in the construction contract, arguing that such safeguards exist to ensure any deficiencies are addressed by the contractor rather than taxpayers. The group contended that because the bridge carries heavy commercial traffic and thousands of daily commuters, early-stage defects should not be dismissed as merely cosmetic.
The organization further argued that given the project’s financing through external loans, the State has an obligation to enforce strict contractual compliance. VPAC has urged the government to allow independent technical assessments and to publicly disclose findings if it maintains that quality assurance standards were met.
In response, the Ministry has not indicated any intention to commission an external review, but reiterated that corrective works on the pavement surface will be undertaken and that continuous monitoring remains in place.
As debate continues, both sides agree on at least one point: the importance of ensuring that Guyana’s flagship infrastructure projects meet long-term safety and performance standards, particularly as traffic volumes and economic activity continue to rise.
