By Samuel OYADONGHA

Yenagoa – UNLESS urgent steps are taken to salvage the Goodluck Jonathan Bridge across the Ikoli River, a tributary of Nun River, the ailing structure may collapse in no distant time.

The condition of the bridge which is an important link in the government effort to connect Ayama, Oporoma, Ukubie communities in the deep swamp of Bayelsa central senatorial district, one of the three senatorial link route to mainland Yenagoa.

The structure is not only of strategic importance to the far flung communities in Southern Ijaw council area but also to residents of the satellite communities in the capital city like Ogu, Akaba, Famgbe and Ogbogoro who use the bridge daily to access the capital city for work, market, school and other social engagements.

The condition of the structure, the single longest bridge to be constructed across any river in Yenagoa, which was commissioned four years ago for public use has further deteriorated with the head pillars showing signs of crack fueling fear among residents of its imminent collapse.

Ironically the structure was not 100 per cent completed by the contractor, Julius Berger before it pulled out of the Niger Delta in the wake of the security challenges posed by the youth militancy which claimed the life of one of its personnel when a kidnap attempt by armed gunmen went awry.

But the Bayelsa government went ahead to commission the bridge for public use about four years ago after hurriedly using an indigenous contractor to complete the work.

Since the company pulled out of the Niger Delta region, no effort conscious efforts had been made to re-award contract for the completion of the bridge to a competent construction firm.

Ikoli River Bridge

Consequently, the sand dump used for the bridge head is gradually being washed away making the structure susceptible to collapse due to the inability of the construction firm to reinforce the sides with mixed concrete in line with standard practice before its withdrawal from the region.

Though the troubled portion had been rehabilitated in the past by some concerned residents and some two years ago by FERMA the condition of the bridge has further deteriorated when Sweet Crude visited the structure last weekend.

However the state of the bridge is now a source of grave concern to residents especially with heavy rainfall already being experienced in the predominantly riverine state.

Sweetcrude observed that a greater portion of the Yenagoa end of the bridge is now on the verge of caving thereby making it a difficult venture for two vehicles to negotiate the narrow passage.

To further compound the woes of the collapsing structure, traders at the Swali market have turned the craters on the side of the bridge to dump site a development that is bound to accelerate the erosion menace.

Lamenting the deteriorating state of the bridge, a resident of Okaba community, Thompson Ebiotu said, “it is painful to see this imposing edifice in this terrible condition. What started as minor erosion around the bridge head is now threatening to cut off communities across the river from the state capital.”

He pleaded with the state government not to allow the worst to happen before tackling the erosion menace now threatening the bridge.

Another concerned residents lamented, “the situation is getting out of hand. We had hoped that the state government would make good its word to commence work on the bridge this dry season, but nothing has been done. Our only prayer is that this bridge should not collapse one day. We are all endangered, but what can we do?”