Zolu Duma Bridge
Coordinates: 6 ° 23 ′ 42 " N , 10 ° 47 ′ 1" W
| Zolu Duma Bridge | ||
|---|---|---|
| use | Street and sidewalk | |
| Convicted | St. Paul River | |
| place | Monrovia | |
| overall length | 240 m | |
| width | 13 m | |
| building-costs | $ 14.5 million | |
| start of building | 2008 | |
| completion | 2011 | |
| planner | Chongqing International Construction Company (CICO) | |
| location | ||
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| Above sea level | 5 m | |
The Zolu Duma Bridge is a 240-meter-long road structure to cross the St. Paul River on the northern outskirts of the Liberian capital Monrovia . Its predecessor was originally an equally long single-track railway overpass and part of the Mano River Railway .
history
The original structure, the Tubman Bridge, was built by US engineer units stationed in Liberia from 1945 to 1946 in connection with the construction of the Freeport Monrovia . Since the 1950s, forest areas north-west of the capital have been developed for the felling of tropical timber and since the 1960s mining areas have been connected to the Freeport with the Mano River Railway . The total cost of this railway project, including all bridge structures, was reported at 10 million US dollars. In the 1970s, a separate two-lane bridge for vehicle traffic was built upstream next to the railway bridge, which is called the St. Paul Bridge to distinguish it. As a result of the civil war , there was no maintenance and repair work on the bridge for a period of 20 years, so it had to be closed to traffic.
The bridge had since been converted into a two-lane road bridge when it collapsed in November 2006.
The Liberian government received a loan of USD 14.5 million for the renewal of the railway bridge. The Chinese Chongqing International Construction Company (CICO) was commissioned to build the new bridge . The completion date was planned for 2010, but reports were made in May 2010 about an extension of the construction period to November 2011, which continued until December 26, 2011.
On December 30, 2011, the bridge was finally reopened in the presence of President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and dedicated to Zolu Duma. He was a chief of the Dei tribe and was instrumental in ensuring that the settlers originally received the land to build the bridge.
The new bridge is 240 meters long. The width of 13 meters is divided into two lanes, each 3.6 meters, as well as two 2.5 meter wide pedestrian lanes. They are separated by 40 cm thick concrete borders. The two outer arches of the bridge have a span of 70 meters, that of the middle one is 100 meters.
Web links
- Aerial view of both bridges seen from Oberstrom
- Photo of the bridge under construction (2010)
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Heritage Newspaper: Vai Town Bridge Nears Completion ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , June 30, 2011, accessed December 31, 2011
- ↑ a b c Chinese Firm To Complete Major Bridge Construction One Year Later As Pres. Sirleaf Visits Project SiteBrussels Airlines. In: Sengbeh Wordpress online portal. Retrieved November 24, 2010 .
- ↑ Iron Ore. The USA gets interested. In: Liberias past and present. Retrieved November 24, 2010 .
- ↑ a b c d Wade C. Williams: 'Great Day for Liberia': Vai Town Bridge Becomes New King Duma Bridge , FrontPageAfricaonline.com, December 31, 2011, accessed December 31, 2011
