Sh23b box girder bridge in final phase, says Kerra

A bridge crossing above the ocean in Kilifi County. [Wilberforce Okwiri, Standard]

A key bridge in Kilifi County is 95 per cent complete and will be open to the public in March, Kenya Rural Roads Authority (Kerra) said.

The box girder bridge, which cost Sh2.3 billion at Baricho in Malindi sub-County, will ease movement across river Galana.

Its completion will pave way for building of similar bridges to increase connectivity across waterways.

Baricho bridge is reportedly the first to be designed by local engineers and built by China Railway Number 109 Engineering Group Limited.

The girder box is the main bridge across the River Galana and the contractor said it will be complete by end of next month.

Kerra engineers and engineering students led by Kerra chair professor Ouko Mbeche toured the bridge on Saturday to assess the final phase of its construction.

Li Jieyang, the commercial manager of China Railway Number 109 Engineering Group Limited, said the construction was to be done under minimal temperatures and it was recommended they work at night when temperatures were relatively low.

“I think engineers here will tell you that this bridge is larger than the on at Mtwapa,” prof Mbeche said.

He said Kenya has had bridges that were built in the 1950s and some of them collapsed because of environmental challenges such as tilling of the land along the rivers.

“You can see this bridge is being built from the middle of the river. It is the first of its kind in Kenya and it was designed by local engineers,” he said.  

The chair said it was wrong to tarmac roads and yet people cannot cross the rivers adding that their mission is to ensure they build bridges over rivers that connect to the tarmac roads.

Mbeche said many lives have been lost because proper bridges were lacking. Jieyang said the bridge will benefit the residents as they will no longer cross the river by foot or in canoes.

“We have trained many Kenyan engineers and brought Chinese technologies and equipment during the construction of this bridge,” he said.

Jieyang revealed that they still have some difficulties as the government is yet to pay them the remaining fee that would help them complete the project

The manager said considering the technology used, the bridge will last for more than 100 years.

Work on the 241-metre bridge started in July 2018.