Barely one week after Daily Trust reported the dilapidated state of Oyigbo/Abonchia-Eleme bridge, Rivers state government has commenced the reconstruction of the collapsed section.
Daily Trust had in its 22nd November, 2019 edition published in its Niger Delta page the dilapidated state of the bridge.
Hundreds of motorists that ply Abonchia/Eleme road had raised concern over the dilapidated state of the bridge. The bridge which connects Oyigbo in Rivers state and Aba in Abia state to the Eleme , Tai, Gokana, Khana and Port Harcourt cave-in a couple of months ago and had constituted a death trap to hundreds of motorists that ply the bridge.
The bridge was constructed some years ago by the Rivers state government to give access to hundreds of commuters that ply the road on a daily basis.
The bridge crisscrossed the Abonchia Eleme river and has served as a gate way to hundreds of motorists as well as numerous staff of multi billion naira Port Harcourt Refinery Company, Eleme Petrochemical , Nigeria Ports Authority, NPA other companies located along the stretch of Onne that traverse through the road on a daily basis.
The poor state of the bridge has worsen in recent time as a result of heavy duty trucks that passes through it to evacuate goods from the Nigeria Ports Authority Onne.
The dilapidated state of Aba/Port Harcourt road which is under construction had added much pressure to the bridge as vehicular traffic have increased on the route as a result of hundreds of commuters that transits through the road to go to Port Harcourt.
RELATED: Panic as Abonchia-Eleme bridge caves inResidents of Abonchia couple of weeks ago barricaded part of the bridge and barred big trucks from plying the route.
Chairman of Eleme local government council, Phillip Okparaji, told our reporter that immediately the issue of the poor state of the bridge was raised he approached Governor Nyesom Wike who he said directed immediate reconstruction of the bridge.
He said that the state governor directed a construction firm to commence immediate reconstruction of the road.
He said the reconstruction started on Friday, 29th , November, one week after Daily Trust publication.
When our reporter visited the bridge on Saturday reconstruction work on the bridge has commenced.
