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| National |
| Kasungu-Lilongwe road closed |
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by
Joseph Langa, 23 December 2004
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09:46:02
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The M1 road from Kasungu to Lilongwe has been closed because temporary bridges constructed parallel to Lisasadzi and Mtiti bridges have been washed away.
National Roads Authority (NRA) public relations manager Portia Kajanga said in an interview the temporary bridge at Lisasadzi was washed away on Monday while the one at Mtiti bridge has been submerged in water since Wednesday.
Kajanga said the authority created a diversion through the old Mchinji road for light traffic which has also been destroyed by heavy traffic, particularly trucks and minibuses which have made the use of the whole M1 road completely impossible.
“We have sent notices that motorists from Mzuzu to Lilongwe and vice versa should use the M5 road from Lilongwe to Mzuzu via Salima and Nkhotakota or the Mchinji road. The diversion on old Mchinji road is very bad. I was there and I saw it,” she said.
“Some vehicles are getting stuck in the mud created by heavy traffic. If our advice to use it for light traffic was followed there wouldn’t have been these problems. But buses and trucks were also using the same diversion”.
Kasungu west MP Sailes Gulule said he spent the whole night on the diversion on Monday on his way from Lilongwe because his car got stuck in the mud.
Wongani Malidadi, a minibus passenger who used the road on Monday at double the normal charge, said the bus got stuck in the mud several times and it took them four and half hours from Kasungu to Lilongwe because they had to drop and push it off the mud.
Kajanga said the authority has started constructing Bailey bridges on the M1 road, especially at Lisasadzi which will be ready next week.
However, Kajanga said that the M5 road is also using temporary bridges at Liwaladzi and Kasangazi because the main bridges are also under construction with funding from European Union which is also funding the Lisasadzi bridge.
But she said the temporary bridges on the M5 road have not been affected by the rains.
Transport minister Henry Mussa pushed the blame of the poor condition of bridges on the previous government for not responding to warnings about the condition of several bridges that have been in bad shape for several years.
“There are several bridges where wake-up calls were made but the previous government was insensitive to such things. Their priorities were upside down,” said Mussa who claimed it’s normal for minibuses to charge double because they are spending more.
Mussa said he also got a call from the Ministry of Agriculture who complained that the diversion has also affected the distribution of farm inputs under the Targeted Input Programme (Tip).
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