Nyatike: Residents who rely on the Kalangi-Namba Kodero bridge in Nyatike sub-county of Migori County have expressed fear that the bridge could collapse any time. The bridge, which forms a vital road connection within the region, has been hit by heavy erosion and hangs precariously on creaky beams, hence endangering the people depending on it to reach their destinations.
According to Kenya News Agency, a spot-check by KNA crew confirmed a looming danger posed by the bridge, whose beams have been terribly eroded by fast-moving water as heavy trucks, pedestrians, and other motorists made daring manoeuvres to cross it. Addressing the press at the scene, one of the regular bridge users, Leonard Awino, said that it was only a matter of time before the region records a worse accident over the bridge. Awino, a bodaboda rider operating near Ongoche Primary School, described it as the shortest and most direct route from Kalangi to Namba Kodero but one that is now feared by the users because any slip-over would send you ten metres down into the river waters, making survival chances zero.
According to another resident of Kalangi sub-location, Mr Babilon Owino, the bridge is used by heavy trucks such as tippers, which increases the risks of its collapse because of its prevailing weak condition. 'It is being forced to carry overloaded trucks just because it is the only accessible bridge. And still, nothing has been done about it,' he mourned. Namba Kodero hosts an open-air market from which the County government collects huge revenue, which could be used to repair the bridge.
Owino claimed that the government has ignored requests from residents to upgrade the bridge. He recalled how the bridge had once been cut off at its ends, forcing engineers to urgently repair it but unfortunately they only made shoddy temporary repairs. Elly Miseda, another local bridge user, added that the lack of guardrails exposed users, especially children, the aged, and individuals under the influence of alcohol and other drugs, to great danger.
Consequently, the local people are now calling on the national and county governments, particularly the Ministry of Roads and the Kenya Rural Roads Authority (KeRRA) to urgently intervene and construct a safer permanent bridge. KNA's efforts to get comments from the Migori County Public Works and Roads engineers proved futile, as all the phones belonging to the officials went unanswered the whole day Thursday and today morning.