Torrential rains in the Northern Region on Sunday washed away back fillings on Jalawe River on the M1 Road in Rumphi, making the road impassable to motor vehicles.
The government, through the Roads Authority (RA), has meanwhile turned to the Malawi Defence Force to erect a bailey bridge so as to open the road to traffic.
The road was cut barely four days after a contractor covered the ring culvert on site with earth to make it passable again.
The bridge was also washed away in January.
In an interview on Sunday, RA Director of Construction Sam Kadangwe said a contractor to come up with a long-lasting solution had already been identified but had been overtaken by heavy rains.
“Work on putting up a bailey bridge at Jalawe is already underway but some parts were missing. We are in Lilongwe with the MDF to mobilise bailey parts and we hope that the road would be open to traffic by Tuesday.
“We cannot rely on backfilling anymore considering the amount of water coming from the hills, so the best is a bailey bridge,” Kadangwe said.
Bailey bridges, however, are temporary and they would need replacing in about two months.
“The bailey bridge is too temporary such that it may not be there in two months but we already have a contractor who will install a prefabricated box culvert. The contractor is already on the ground working on diversions.
“We have turned to the bailey bridge because we cannot have the M1 closed for a long time. We may need to close the road again for permanent works,” he said.
In a separate interview, Rumphi Police Station Officer Charles Mpezeni said motorists had queued up on both sides of the bridge on Sunday.
“People travelling between Karonga and Mzuzu are disembarking from minibuses on both ends and are crossing on foot to continue with their journey,” Mpezeni said.
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