# Demerara Harbour Bridge Span Collapses (23 July 2012)

URL: https://allhistories.com/guyana/timeline/2012-demerara-harbour-bridge-span-collapses
Location: Demerara Harbour Bridge, Guyana
Themes: main-event

On 23 July 2012, during maintenance, the western retractor span of the Demerara Harbour Bridge collapsed and partly sank, trapping a minibus. No one was injured. The bridge, a floating structure opened in 1978, is the only road link between Georgetown and the west bank of the Demerara River. Larger ferries had been decommissioned, so the disruption to commuters and commercial traffic was severe. Smaller boats and temporary arrangements were used while repairs went ahead, and the government sought a long-term solution, including a new crossing. Experts and the public criticised the maintenance regime of the ageing structure. The incident highlighted weaknesses in national infrastructure and dependence on a single crossing. It strengthened the case for a new Demerara River bridge, a project debated for years before construction was approved in the following decade. The event showed the economic costs of failures in transport links in a country with few major roads.

## Why it matters
A failed span showed how fragile a vital river crossing had become.

Ruler at the Time: [Donald Ramotar](https://allhistories.com/guyana/rulers/donald-ramotar)

Prime Minister of Guyana (third term): Sam Hinds

## Sources
- [Demerara Harbour Bridge](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demerara_Harbour_Bridge)
- [Berbice Bridge](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berbice_Bridge)