The Berbice Bridge is a
pontoon bridge
A pontoon bridge (or ponton bridge), also known as a floating bridge, is a bridge that uses float (nautical), floats or shallow-draft (hull), draft boats to support a continuous deck for pedestrian and vehicle travel. The buoyancy of the support ...
over the
Berbice River near
New Amsterdam
New Amsterdam (, ) was a 17th-century Dutch Empire, Dutch settlement established at the southern tip of Manhattan Island that served as the seat of the colonial government in New Netherland. The initial trading ''Factory (trading post), fac ...
in
Guyana
Guyana, officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern coast of South America, part of the historic British West Indies. entry "Guyana" Georgetown, Guyana, Georgetown is the capital of Guyana and is also the co ...
. The
bridge is tolled and was opened on 23 December 2008.
With the completion of the Berbice Bridge, and the earlier completion of the
Coppename Bridge in
Suriname
Suriname, officially the Republic of Suriname, is a country in northern South America, also considered as part of the Caribbean and the West Indies. It is a developing country with a Human Development Index, high level of human development; i ...
in 1999, the
Courantyne River
The Courantyne River ( ), also known as Corentyne and Corantijn (), is a river in northern South America in Suriname and Guyana. It is the longest List of rivers of Suriname, river in the country and creates the border between Suriname and the Eas ...
is the only river between the Guyanese capital of
Georgetown and the Surinamese capital of
Paramaribo
Paramaribo ( , , ) is the capital city, capital and largest city of Suriname, located on the banks of the Suriname River in the Paramaribo District. Paramaribo has a population of roughly 241,000 people (2012 census), almost half of Suriname's p ...
still left without a bridge. This is due to change in the near future, with plans for a bridge on the Courantyne near
South Drain. The bridge doesn't have a pedestrian crossing.
It is owned by Berbice Bridge Company Incorporated and tolls are set by a Concession Agreement between the government and the company. In 2018, the government took over ownership of the bridge as a reaction to the 360% increase in toll, citing Sections 4 (1) and 11 of the Berbice River Bridge Act in the interest of public safety.
See also
*
List of bridges in Guyana
References
External links
Berbice Bridge webpage
Road bridges in Guyana
Pontoon bridges
Toll bridges
New Amsterdam, Guyana
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