Collapsed bridge affects economic activities in Lawra District

Lawra, (U/W), Oct. 25, GNA - Economic activities in parts of the Lawra District of the Upper West Region have been disrupted by the collapse of a steel bridge that links communities along the Domwini-Nandom road.

The bridge, which was constructed in 1996, fell apart on Friday when a Burkina Faso bound articulator truck with registration number AS 1367 W was crossing it.

The truck, loaded with iron rods, pieces of furniture and other building materials, collapsed with the bridge into the river making the road completely impassable.

There were, however, no casualties. Mr. Cezar Kale, Deputy Upper West Regional Minister, who visited the scene, said the collapse of the bridge was a major blow to economic activities in the district, the region and neighbouring Burkina Faso.

He was accompanied by Mr. Sampson Abu, Lawra District Chief Executive, (DCE) and Alhaji Seidu Bawa, Regional Coordinator of the National Disaster Management Organisation, (NADMO). They all attributed that the collapse of the bridge to the overloading of the truck.

Mr. Kale said the principles of axle loading had been violated and appealed to security agencies to ensure that the axle loading principles were strictly adhered to by drivers to avoid such accidents. He stressed the need for the provision an axle load weight check facility in the region to enable the security agencies to check the weight of cargo trucks in the region before allowing them access. He noted that most of the drivers after having their weight checked at the loading point pick more load on their way, saying the weight check facility would enable the security agencies to fish out such recalcitrant drivers and punish them severely. Mr. Kale said the government through the Ministry of Roads and Highways would ensure the replacement of the bridge as soon as possible to restore economic activities. Mr. Abu noted that the collapse of the bridge would now put pressure on the Lawra-Nandom road, expressing fear that the Kamba River Bridge on that road was also likely to collapse because of the pressure that would be mounted on it. He, therefore, appealed for the necessary attention to be paid to the replacement of the bridge as soon as possible. Alhaji Bawa said the collapsed bridge would cost government several millions of cedis to have it replaced and appealed to long vehicle owners not to overload their vehicles. 25 Oct. 10