The construction of the Sh2.3 billion Baricho bridge across River Galana in Malindi constituency, Kilifi county, is 70 per cent complete and will be ready early next year.
Once complete, the 241-metre long bridge whose construction started in 2018, is expected to spur economic growth in the area as residents will easily be able to transport goods to the market and connect Malindi and Magarini subcounties.
Already the contractor, Ms China Railway No 10 Engineering Group, has completed works on approaching roads that are six kilometres long, on either side of the bridge.
The Baricho bridge will connect with the Malindi-Salagate road on the Malindi side built at a cost of Sh4.3 billion and is already complete while on the Magarini side it will connect with the Sh1.5 billion Marikebuni-Marafa-Baricho road, which is almost complete.
The bridge is being constructed using the box girder technology that comprises deck slabs where the deck slabs and the main girders work together to resist loads.
Mario Fomiga an employee of the Chinese company said currently, they were fixing the segments at the centre pier which he expects to be complete by December before raising the beams on the other segments.
Speaking at the site on Saturday, Fomiga said their plan is to finish the box segments by December and embark on the completion of the approach roads from either side.
He said each segment has different dimensions, adding that from the major pier that is T3 the length to the other piers T2 and T1 are 25 metres away.
“In 14 days, we will cast two segments and by December we will be done with the 15 segments, six segments are complete,” he said.
Fomiga called on the government to release the money on time.
The firm's manager Li Jie Yang said he would be happy to see residents cross using the bridge.
So far Yang said, they have trained technicians and other operators, adding that they will train more residents.
“It is sad seeing young children cross the river to and from school, I am confident that the bridge will change the landscape of this area,” he said.
Engineer Victor Majiwa from the Otieno Odongo and Partners Consulting, supervisor of the work, said the contractor constructed a drift to temporarily help residents cross the river under the strict supervision.
“There are gates on either side to bar people from crossing when the water levels are high. The gates are normally closed and people are only allowed when it is safe to cross,” he said.
He said the bridge will be important for the community and beyond as currently it costs a lot of time and money to cross using canoes.
Once complete, he said, the farming industry will grow and that a huge percentage of employees who are locals including all engineers, will have gained experience in the technology being used.
Lina Paula the liaison officer between the community and the contractor said over 300 residents have been employed at the site since the construction works started.
She said the residents have been acquiring skills that will help them even after the project is complete in many other projects
Paula said in the past, residents used the Malindi Marafa road to access the Baricho side which was time consuming and costly due to the distance covered but currently, vehicles and people are crossing even before the bridge is completed.
“In the past residents had to cover long distances to move to either side of the river but the bridge has come in handy to shorten the distance,” he said.
Residents said cases of people crossing the river on foot has gone down since the construction of the bridge started after the contractor built the drift which is being used for crossing under supervision to prevent any danger.
Manyeso Kamacha a resident, said the employees at the bridge help residents cross when the water levels are low and make sure there are no crocodiles.
He said once complete, the economy of the area will improve as there will be no costs for crossing unlike now where one has to pay between Sh100 to Sh400 which many cannot afford and risk their lives to cross on foot.
“Once complete, the project will help them save money and time spent crossing using small boats or on foot, when the river is full or flooded, crocodile numbers also rise and many people have been killed,” he said.
He appealed to the contractor to speed up the construction work so that they can use the bridge and save their lives from the dangerous river.
Jumwa Charo a resident said many children have lost their lives while crossing the river while others have scars due to crocodile attacks.
She said many children now do not want to cross the river for fear of being attacked by crocodiles and would rather miss school than risk crossing.
Michael Kalu, a local youth employed at the project said there are visible changes at the moment since people from either side of the river are assisted to cross by the company.
-Edited by SKanyara