By Mohamed Jaward Nyallay
The bridge at Savage Street collapsed on Thursday evening, just before rush hour. No casualty was reported, but a young bike rider who was almost caught in the rubble had to be rushed to the hospital by residents of the community.
The bridge connects the West End of the city right through to the main business district. Residents who live in the community say the bridge had been in a bad shape for quite a while.
A resident who say the bridge had existed for over 60 years, noted that they had complained several times about the state of the bridge and had never seen any maintenance work on it.
The bridge connects Savage Street to St John on one end and Main Motor Road (Brookfields) on the other end, where three schools are located, all within a 50 meter radius.
Fredericka Sesay, 14, attends St Joseph’s Convent at the other end of the bridge. She said she is used to using the bridge because it’s the shorter route.
“This is where I used to get to school every day because the other bridge at Old Railway Line is a bit far. I can’t use it anymore. I really hope government puts attention to fixing it,” she said.
St Joseph’s Convent, Freetown Secondary School for Girls and St Anthony Primary School are all located on the same end of the bridge. Schools have been closed due to the Corona virus pandemic, with exception made for examination classes. But when school is in progress, many of the children use the bridge to and from school.
Residents say the disaster could have been worse had school been in progress.
Marie Davies, 52 said she has two grandchildren who attend St Anthony. She said she has been frightened recently when she used the bridge.
“This bridge was shaking recently when we were using it. I have two grandchildren and I am scared every time we pass through here,” Madam Davies said.
The Mayor of Freetown City, Yvonne Aki-Sawyer, said they hadn’t received any complaints about the state of the bridge, adding that the council has been deprived of funds to do any road maintenance in the city.
“Now that this has happened, we have to work on our maintenance culture and the council has to be kept in the loop. Thank God no life was lost, but if traffic was on, then it could have been tragic,” she told journalists while visiting the scene of the incident.
The collapse of the bridge is set to worsen the traffic situation in the west end of the city. The alternative routes are through the Old Railway Line Bridge and Kingtom Bridge, two other bridges that have gone for years without any major maintenance work.
The Deputy Head of Media at the Sierra Leone Police, Assistant Superintendent of Police Saio Conteh, told Politico at the scene that they will redirect traffic in the coming days to the nearest streets.
“Traffic will be diverted to Old Railway Line, Adelaide Street to Kingtom Bridge and we will even use Berwick Street,” he said.
There are concerns about the bridge at Old Railway Line and the Kingtom Bridge, they are equally as old and battered as the Savage Street one that collapsed. An increased traffic activity on both bridges could be dangerous for vehicles and commuters.
ASP Conteh said: “We will collaborate with key stakeholders from those who are responsible for engineering and construction to make sure that the situation is fixed as soon as possible and ensure safety.”
Government officials who arrived at the scene an hour later, said works on the bridge will be swift.
The government recently launched a massive road initiative, with over Le 300 billion set aside for road works. Work on the bridge or any of the other bridges within a mile radius of Savage Street was not part of the plan.
This disaster will now force government to put some resources aside to fix the bridge, considering how strategic it is.
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