The Roads Authority (RA) has said the bailey bridge across South Rukuru River at Jalawe in Rumphi has been strategically erected to allow a contractor they have identified to commence permanent works on the M1 Road.
RA has since disclosed that a permanent bridge would cost K28 billion and will among others involve the replacement of metal curvets with concrete box curvets.
Following heavy downpour in some parts of Karonga and Rumphi on Sunday, the backfilling which covered metal curvets on the bridge was washed away for the third time since January this year.
The development prompted RA to engage the Malawi Defence Force (MDF) to erect a temporally bailey bridge over the river but slightly away from the road which has now been opened to traffic.
“We will create diversions for motorists as the contractor, we identified, prepares to commence permanent works on the bridge. We, however, have to wait until the water subsides before the works can start,” Portia Kajanga, RA Public Relations Officer, said in an interview yesterday.
RA has engaged Sawa Group to carry out the permanent works and has been on the ground constructing road diversions in preparation for the work.
The project is expected to take 45 days.
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