Within a span of four days, Taraba State has recorded the collapsing of two major bridges on highways that link the state capital Jalingo to Central and Southern Taraba, as well as a link to the southern part of the country.
Communal efforts are on in the second collapsed bridge on the Jalingo-Bali Road, after commuters remained stranded for days.
The Mayo-Kam bridge on the Jalingo/Bali/Gembu Federal Highway, in Bali Local Government Area, which served as an alternative route for commuters, since the collapse of the Namnai bridge, on the Jalingo/Mutum-Biyu/Wukari Highway, in Gassol Local Government Area, has also caved in.
MUST READ: Gunmen kill 8 people in Taraba State
The collapse of both bridges is only 3 days apart, due to torrential rainfall that worsened the erosion beneath the bridges, and the overflow of the rivers.
After 5 days of using a makeshift road that becomes unmotorable after a rainfall, community efforts have been put in place to temporarily fix the Mayo-Kam bridge, pending the intervention of the Federal Government.
The Chairman of Bali Local Government Area is at the forefront of the community effort, to ease transportation for road users, as the bridge strategically connects the state capital to the southern and central zones.
The Federal Controller of Works in Taraba State, Yakubu Mohammed, says the delay in interventions by the Federal Government to fix the collapsed bridges, is due to administrative procedures.
While the Mayo-Kam bridge collapse has been temporarily salvaged through community efforts, the case with the Namnai bridge is different, as the magnitude of damage requires professional intervention from the relevant authorities.
(Editor : Ena Agbanoma)
