Sussex and Hog Street bridge commissioned ahead of schedule
− cargo haulers warned about using community roads
Minister of Public Works, the Hon. Bishop Juan Edghill on Saturday commissioned the newly-constructed $15.9 million concrete bridge at Sussex and Hog Streets.
The original wooden structure was damaged by a heavily-laden truck in September.
During the Saturday morning event, Minister Edghill said owners and drivers of sand trucks, container and other transportation haulers must stop using and damaging miscellaneous roads [Roads located within communities].
“Now this is a community bridge, not a bridge in a commercial zone or a bridge that should allow for commercial traffic, it’s a community bridge, yes it could carry a truckload of sand, Canter with materials to build a home or improvement of somebody’s place, but to have an unconscionable act of a containerised truck with a 40ft container on it using a community bridge to turnaround by reversing on it and collapse it, is something that must be addressed in a very public way. We cannot have that situation continued,” Minister Edghill stated.
He added this was a familiar occurrence, as it has been happening in other parts of the country.
“Conversation Tree Road is a classic example, another containerised hauler during the period when they were diversion of traffic because he did not want to go all the way down to the railway embankment and come out at a main access like UG Road, used the Conversation Tree Road, another community road, and that act caused shifting, then for months that road was not usable.”
Minister Edghill said development could not just mean repairing what is broken. “Development must mean doing new things and in order for us to be able to do new things we have to care and maintain what is already there.”
The road falls under the ambit of the Georgetown Mayor and City Council. However, the Ministry of Public Works stepped in since many people were affected, Minster Edghill stated. He also called on Mayor Pandit Ubraj Narine, who was present at the commissioning and M&CC Councillors to be more proactive in their duties to the people, as well as to be sterner with commercial entities who are guilty of recklessly damaging the nation’s roads.
The Sussex and Hog Street bridge was completed four weeks ahead of time by contractor, DEVCON Construction Incorporated.