Black History Month: Joe Holder A.A, the man who built the Demerara Harbour Bridge

Joseph ‘Joe’ Walter Holder was born in Bartica in 1936 and was the eldest of 11 children. He designed and spearheaded the construction of the Demerara Harbour Bridge (DHB) which started on 29^th May 1976. The bridge was commissioned 2^nd July 1978. At completion it was the world’s longest floating bridge. The bridge was built to last 10 years but continues to provide immense service to commuters and businesses plying the route.

Appearing in a Kaieteur News’ (Jan 23, 2011) story Holder said building the DHB “was and remains one of [his] proudest moments.”

As the story goes, while the construction of bridging the Demerara River was discussed for years it wasn’t until Holder inquired whether the use of Acrow Panel Bridge (APB) structural and Uniflote (UF) flotation components can be used a floating bridge across the river in the vicinity of Georgetown. Holder and others designed the bridge.

He later visited the United Kingdom where he held discussions with the retractor spans engineer about its design and function and observed the fabrication of APB and UF components and their use in the construction of floating docks at various places in England.

He advised the Forbes Burnham government that the APB and UF components can be used for constructing a bridge across the Demerara River and proposed that it be constructed between Peter’s Hall on the East Bank and Meer Zorgen on the West Bank.

The rest is now history.

Holder returned to Guyana from England in 1961 and was appointed Assistant Engineer at the Public Works Department.

He not only spearheaded the design and construction of the DHB (1976-1978), but was tasked the responsibility to build the Abary Bridge (1961), which is located at Adventure, West Coast Berbice, linking Berbice and Demerara, and ran the state-owned Guyana Electricity Corporation (GEC).

In 1982 he was appointed General Manager of GEC and later appointed Chairman and oversaw the rehabilitation of the Versailles Power Station.

Holder also oversaw projects in the Mahaica–Rosignol areas, on the Essequibo Coast, and worked with consultants on the Soesdyke/ Linden Highway Project, among other projects.

In 1980, for his outstanding works in the field of Civil Engineering he was awarded The Golden Arrow of Achievement, Guyana’s fourth highest national award.

Holder was one of the founders of the Guyana Association of Professional Engineers (GAPE).

In 1947, he won a scholarship to attend Queen’s College, becoming only the second Bartician to do so. At high school and university, he participated in sports.

He excelled at the General Certificate of Education (GCE) which earned him a place at the University College of the West Indies (UCWI). Holder also attended the University of Birmingham, University of Toronto, University of Guyana and University of Pittsburgh, USA. He held a bachelor’s degrees in Civil Engineering and master’s degrees in Civil Engineering and Public Works.

Holder, who was a trade unionist, was once elected as First Vice President of the Guyana Public Service Union and also had a stint as President in 1980.

Holder who retired in 1991 from public service, continued to provide services to the Government of Guyana. At the time of his death, on March 6, 2022, he was Director of the DHB, part of an advisory body on infrastructural development, and also gave advice on the construction of a new DHB.