It hangs like an albatross on its users’ necks. Some say it is like a death-trap on an inevitable path to a life ambition. Others liken it to a prescribed drug labelled as poison by its makers, but must be taken with precaution against a life-threatening ailment.
This is what the bridge across the Igwu River in Ozu Abam, Arochukwu local government area, Abia State, is. For years, road users have crossed the horror-striking bridge in deep prayer for safety.
Built over seven decades ago, the colonial bridge on the about 50-kilometre Umuahia-Bende- Ohafia federal road has been deteriorating without an end in sight.
Speaking to LEADERSHIP, a regular user, who sought anonymity, said the dangers are many. “It’s single-laned, has no handrails, lacks caution signs on both sides of its sloppy approaches and is accident-prone.”
A sand excavator in the river lamented that, “The environment has witnessed several road crashes which claimed lives, injured man, and destroyed property worth huge sums of money.
Waving aside the ownership, the state government has embarked on providing an alternative to the life-threatening relic unofficially called Omenuko Bridge after a legendary Aro slave merchant.
At the event, Governor Alex Otti reminded the people that though it belongs to the federal government, he can’t hold his arms and watch the users suffer because of its ownership.
“What we’re doing is that anywhere that we see that work needs to be done, we don’t wait for people to ask us, we begin to do the work,” he said.
He said the state government had heard that a contract for the rehabilitation of the bridge had been awarded by the federal government from “our brothers, but upon inquiries, we found out that the information is incorrect.
“However, be sure that being a responsible government paucity or nonavailability of funds will not stall the completion of the project as we already have plans to fund it,” he said.
The commissioner for Works, Otumchere Oti, gave a detailed explanation of the specification of the new structure and assured of its delivery on schedule.
His words: “When completed, the 45 by 8 metres bridge will guarantee a high level of safety for the users and strengthen social connectivity.”
Earlier, the president-general, Ozu Abam Development Union, Chibuike Usim, recalled how successive federal governments failed to fix the bridge.
He described the project as a testament to the state government’s commitment to developing the state and assured of the union’s support for the governor.
The need for the construction of the alternative and rehabilitation of the road can’t be overemphasised as one of the community leaders, Agwu Idika, observed.
The retired civil servant noted that the road is not only a link between the central and the north zones of the state but also a gateway to Cross River and Akwa Ibom States and Cameroon.
