The Roads sector is carrying out a technical assessment of the state of the metal bridges, many of which are under pressure from the overload of trucks that circulate along the national and regional corridors.

According to Rubina Noormohamed, director of the Central Services for Road Maintenance and Safety at the National Roads Administration (ANE), overloading, mainly kayaks transporting logs, is one of the causes of accidents that occur particularly on bridges in the center and north of the country.

"This represents a major constraint, because it delays investment in roads that are a priority, since the sector has to replace metal bridges all the time," said Rubina Noormohamed.

Quoted in a NewsThe source pointed out that in addition to the sums involved in replacing the infrastructure, around 200 million meticais for 80 meters of the bridge, the situation also ends up interrupting the roads, leaving some towns and villages without road communication.

In view of the situation, Noormohamed calls on motorists to respect the maximum capacity required to cross the bridges, in order to safeguard them and ensure transit between different parts of Mozambique.

In addition, in the current rainy season, at least eight bridges, four drifts and six pontoons have been damaged, compromising road traffic.

In addition, many of the main corridors are experiencing problems with overloading, mainly from aggregate haulers, which reduces the lifespan of the asphalt.

The provinces of Maputo, Nampula and Cabo Delgado are the ones with the most road damage due to excessive load handling, reducing the useful life of the sidewalk by around 40%, which means a considerable increase in maintenance costs.

(Photo DR)