A wooden bridge which links Grand Bassa and Bong Counties within the Kokoyah District is said to be on the verge of collapse, at least according to residents in the area.Residents say the St. John bridge appears to be sinking, something which is affecting the movement of people between the two counties.
The original St. John’s Bridge seen running parallel to the wooden one in the photo above was destroyed during the civil war and has since not been repaired. The wooden one which was intended to be temporal has been in been used as permanent but is said to have outlived its worthiness.
According to our Correspondent who visited the area over the weekend, the bridge has turned to a deathtrap for commuters using the route to connect Grand Bassa County.
Our Bong County Correspondent says few years back, some citizens of the District lost their lives as a result of the same situation.
Even though local authorities of the area have over the past been making appeals for the reconstruction of the bridge, Bong County Legislative Caucus and the National government are yet to intervene.
In an effort to combat the life-losing situation, Kokoyah sub-District Commissioner Mary Kwenah has recapped calls for government’s quick intervention.Mrs. Kwenah said the bridge needs to be quickly reconstructed in an effort to save the lives of Travelers.
She also pointed accusing fingers at the Alpha Logging Company, saying that its operations were affecting the live spin of the bridge.
Mrs. Kwenah said the Alpha Logging Company uses the bridge in the region to transport logs to the port of Buchanan, adding that as a result of the heavy weight, the bridge has damaged beyond.
“This bridge is really scaring us in this area, sometimes we want to cross with our goods to Grand Bassa but due to the bridge condition, we cannot be brave” Nancy Jangbah a local marketer told this paper.
She said it is important for the government to quickly intervene if their lives should be saved.
When quizzed about what their Representative is doing concerning the situation, Mrs. Jangbah said, “During the campaign, our only alternative was to vote for someone who will help us lobby with government to fix this bridge and we reached it to the current Representative Albert Hills who was campaigning at that time. He actually promised to fix the bridge but since he got elected, we have not seen him” she explains.
By: Joseph Titus Yekeryan in Bong County, editing by Othello B. Garblah
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