Motorists stranded after Kainuk Bridge collapses

A collapsed section of Kainuk Bridge.

Motorists using Kitale-Lodwar Highway stranded after Kainuk Bridge in Turkana County collapsed on Monday morning due to heavy rains.

The bridge passes over Turkwel River links Turkana to other regions. It also connects Kenya to South Sudan.

Barely two weeks ago Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) had repaired a section of the bridge it had been damaged by floods and rendered impassable. In a statement to the press on October 25, KeNHA okayed the use of Kainuk Bridge saying it would be operational to low tonnage traffic.

Kainuk Bridge damaged by floods two weeks ago.

Kainuk Bridge was built over 30 years ago and this is not the first time the bridge has fallen apart. Over the past few years, the bridge has undergone a number of repair following cracks in some parts. The damage has been attributed to heavy rains and oil explorations by Tullow Oil Company in Turkana, which sees a large fleet of trucks carrying big machines to the exploration site.

In 2014, Turkana Governor Josphat Nanok expressed concern over the state of the bridge after large cracks were spotted on the bridge and called for an urgent response from the Government to avert a looming disaster.