Nekundi calls for urgent replacement of rain damaged bridge at Aris

Newly appointed minister of works and transport Veikko Nekundi on Monday called on the Roads Authority (RA) to ensure that the collapsed bridge at Aris is replaced as quickly as possible.

The bridge on the B1 national highway, located 30km south of Windhoek, was severely damaged by flash floods caused by heavy rains last week.
Nekundi said the bridge could not be repaired and that it must be replaced with a dual-carriageway bridge.

The minister, who inspected the bridge, advised RA chief executive Conrad Lutombi to consider applying for emergency procurement to ensure the timely completion of the new bridge.
“I think I am suitable to give a policy directive in the national interest. We cannot go on the normal method of procurement, that takes months and months. So, I have directed them to apply for the emergency procurement, and still stick to the rules of emergency procurement,” Nekundi said.

He also inspected the N$10-million bypass road, which was constructed to facilitate traffic movement along the busy route between Windhoek and southern Namibia, extending to the South African border.
The minister commended the contracted company, deployed on an emergency basis to construct a bypass, which is currently working on the second lane.
“They were deployed promptly, and they have restored a passage that was constructed to allow the traffic at least to flow, despite being one way.”

Lutombi, for his part, says the construction of the new bridge will take up to seven months to complete.
“You know about the collapse of this bridge, which we have now restored the temporary access, and we are working on the permanent bypass, which is a two-way.
“And then after that, we hope to open it in the next three weeks. We are also busy with the design of the reconstruction of this bridge.

“The reconstruction will take us around seven months, so it’s not a quick solution. We will have to make sure that we design it to withstand the flow of water we have observed. So it must be designed and constructed to a high standard,” he says.

Lutombi adds that he expects a comprehensive report detailing the extent of the damage to national highways, including rural roads. He says the road branching off from the Hosea Kutako road leading to the Ovitoto area has been closed to the public due to extensive damage caused by rain.
The RA has also taken precautionary measures by closing the old road between Windhoek and Okahandja, as the bridge between Osona Village and Osona Military Base has shown signs of potential damage that could lead to its collapse.

-Nampa