Jalawe Bridge washed

Efforts to fix Jalawe Bridge along the M1 Road in Rumphi continue to face challenges as running water yesterday morning demolished the backfilled area for the third time in week.
Motorists from Karonga and Mzuzu are still stranded and government has since engaged the Malawi Defence Force (MDF) to construct a temporary bridge.

Road Authority (RA) acting chief executive officer Sam Kadangwe said there was too much water flowing and the backfilling could not withstand the pressure on Sunday.
However, he said RA in conjunction with MDF is working on a Bailey bridge that would support the flow of traffic temporarily.
He said the bridge would probably be ready by tomorrow.

Kadangwe said MDF troops were already on the ground fixing the bridge, but it transpired that the section needed a longer bridge to avoid effects of the flowing water.
During the time of the interview, he said MDF officials were getting more equipment in Lilongwe to finish constructing the single lane bridge.

“The metals that were in the North were not enough. As we are speaking I am in Lilongwe with MDF where they are loading the metals into a truck.
“Anytime they will leave Lilongwe but considering that these items are very heavy, the truck might reach there late. So tomorrow [Monday] they should be able to continue with the works and probably Tuesday the bridge should be ready,” said Kadangwe.

As a lasting solution, the acting chief executive officer said RA has identified a contractor to fix concrete culverts on the affected section.
He said the metal culverts were too old and narrow, hence failure to withstand the pressure.
Minister of Information and Communications Technology Nicholas Dausi confirmed that trucks carrying foodstuffs for flood victims in Karonga are stuck in Mzuzu.
“This is why government has deployed the military to [construct] the Bailey bridge in the meantime for the trucks to proceed to Karonga,” he said.
Rumphi Police Station has since warned all road users about the road’s status. 