NICIL Spearheading Repairs to Wismar Bridge

NICIL is spearheading emergency rehabilitation works to the Wismar bridge according to Linden Mining Enterprise (LINMINE) General Manager, Emmet Alves.
Alves said the structure was last repaired in 2005 and scheduled maintenance were hampered “massive and continuous pile-up of garbage” close to it.

“The last time we did any repairs to this bridge was in 2005 but it was not to this magnitude and as we continue to repair we are discovering that there are more repairs at various sections that are needed,” he said.
Residents ignored continuous pleas by the Linden Mayor and City Council and the National Industrial and Commercial Investment Limited (NICIL) and their recalcitrance forced delays to its repairs, the LINMINE official explained.
Among repair, works will be replacement of the vertical supports and horizontal beams under the carriageway which are in very bad shape due to age and the vagaries of the weather.
“The two sections we recognised had to change as the vertical sector by the western side has now been completed and we are presently working on the eastern section,” Alves explained.
Construction materials for the project are being accessed from the aluminium plant.
“We found however that as we move to various sections of the bridge we have been finding various damage and (we) are working on rectifying those, but so far with the review and evaluation that we have done we found that these repairs were emergency and as such, had to be done immediately,” Alves said.

Given the deterioration over time and the abuse by residents who continued to dump garbage in its environment, Alves suggested that the structure could no longer bear the daily stress.
“As a result of the enormous amounts of garbage that are being thrown…by residents it has been preventing us from doing proper inspection and maintenance to the bridge,” he said.
This prevented thorough inspection and repairs to the bridge in the past and forced repairs to the upper section of the structure only.
“The reality is that even if you were to go there now you would find a lot of garbage dumped there and this continues to be a major challenge for us but we continue to work as we must complete these repairs,” he stressed.
Linden’s Paul Jones is the contractor for the project.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of his own firm, Modern Welding and Fabrication Company, anticipates completing the rehabilitation works by the end of this month.