By Mabinty M. Kamara
The King Jimmy Bridge, which was recently renovated after five years of overflowing with sewage and causing environmental hazard, is again overflowing.
The bridge which is located at Wallace Johnson Street in Freetown links the city’s main health referral facility, Connaught Hospital, to the rest of the Central Business District.
Due to a fault on the construction work of the structure, sewage has been overflowing in the middle of it, leaving in its wake a massive stench causing discomfort to commuters and occupants of nearby offices and business establishments.
Work on the renovation of the bridge started in April this year and lasted up to early May. It followed a sustained campaign by some people and institutions, including Politico Newspaper.
Under pressure to act, the Freetown City Council (FCC) eventually issued a public advisory acknowledging the health risk posed by the situation and called on the public to bear with inconveniences caused as a result of road blocks during the renovation work.
“Over the last 5 years, residents who live and work around the King Jimmy environs, and those that regularly travel through the route, have been regularly inconvenienced by the overflow of sewage. The overflow was caused by the destruction of sewage lines after the bridge fell,” the statement from the FCC said back then, noting that the work that it was doing on the bridge involved constructing the new sewage lines which would put a permanent end to the problem.
But it appears the problem is far from over.
Passing vehicles are still splashing the filthy liquid on passersby. And for those who make a living nearby, mainly petty traders, they have to constantly put up with an unbearable stench.
Festus Gbani, a Kekeh rider who regularly plies along Wallace Johnson Street, expressed disappointment over the “poor work” done on the road, lamenting that it was a “wasted effort and resources”.
“They just blocked the road for us unnecessarily all in the name of renovation. In the end, nothing good was done. It hasn’t taken two months and it has started leaking,” he complained.
Fatmata Turay, a nurse who works at Connaught, lamented the health implication of the situation for those spending time within the vicinity.
"This stench is not good for the health of the people that pass by and those spending long hours around this place, continuously inhaling such odor” she said, adding: “Imagine if a passing vehicle splashes this water on someone? Those concerned should actually do something urgent to fix it permanently, because it is exposing people to potential health threats".
There are also fears that the leakage could have a long-term effect on the bridge.
Before the FCC eventually embarked on the renovation work, it had engaged in a blame game with the company contracted to do it, Beton Villa, also known as Gento Group.
Back then, Beton Villa’s Executive Director, Mohamed Gento Kamara, insisted that the overflowing sewage on the bridge had nothing to do with the work done by his company. He blamed it, instead, on the “incompetence” of the FCC, who he claimed did not have the relevant understanding about the sewage system.
Kamara told Politico that most of the people who understood the city’s sewage system had retired, and that those currently in charge within the Council had no idea about it.
The FCC did not get back to Politico for a comment on the latest development.
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