Months after the collapse of the Murago bridge linking the town hall of Bujumbura and the province of Bubanza on the RN9, a metal bridge has been installed for two weeks on a detour street to facilitate traffic. The population asks for the construction of a solid bridge. “Despite the construction of this detour bridge, the main bridge is still necessary. It must be
Months after the collapse of the Murago bridge linking the town hall of Bujumbura and the province of Bubanza on the RN9, a metal bridge has been installed for two weeks on a detour street to facilitate traffic. The population asks for the construction of a solid bridge.
“Despite the construction of this detour bridge, the main bridge is still necessary. It needs to be rehabilitated as soon as possible,” said a trader we met on the Murago River on July 5. According to him, the metal bridge installed on the detour road is not solid and could collapse at any moment.
For a motorcyclist, the diversion is long and almost impracticable: “It is a short-term solution. Going this way, we consume more fuel. He also fears that the detour road will be completely impassable during the rainy season, especially since it is not paved. For him, the Road Agency of Burundi (ARB) should accelerate the rehabilitation works of the main bridge of Murago.
This diversion bridge is reserved for light vehicles and pedestrians. For truck drivers, nothing has changed. They must always pass by the river.
“We were told that the bridge is fragile and cannot support large vehicles. For the moment, we are taking advantage of the decrease in the water level following the dry season. During the rainy season, the passage will be impossible”, points out a dumpster driver. He calls for the urgent rehabilitation of the main bridge.
From a cyclist, it’s a sigh of relief. He appreciates the installation of a detour bridge over the Murago River: “Traffic had been almost cut off on the RN 9 for months. With this bridge, we do business as normal”. And to remember the times when he would have to pay the porters to get his bike and luggage across.
The reconstruction activities of the Murago bridge on the RN9 have not yet started. Rehabilitated since March 2021 by the Burundi Road Agency, this bridge also collapsed on February 20 following heavy rains and flooding of the Murago River.