Engineers seen working on the part of a damaged Juba Bridge on 6 March 2020 | Credit | Okot Emmanuel/Eye Radio

An engineer has warned that Juba Bridge may soon collapse if proper repair is not urgently done.

Peter Atem who runs Rhino Star Construction Company says it was forced to close one lane of Juba Bridge last Saturday for an urgent repair.

In April, Rhino Star Company completed the rehabilitation of one lane of the bridge after parts of the super-structures holding the bridge could not hold heavy trucks or live loads.

The maintenance work was done on the inbound lane only.

The company managing director, Peter Atem, told Eye Radio on Monday that there is no guarantee the bridge may last for many months without developing another fault.

“You know what happened, the bridge had some problem on the lane that goes to Nimule. It has not been maintained, and the materials for that lane have been brought here but we have financial problems,” said the managing director of Rhino Star Company.

“We temporarily repaired it, we have added old parts that may last for some months or maybe one month and if the government cannot look into it, it will be difficult.”

“I cannot guarantee but it can work for one month,” Atem warned.

Juba Bridge was constructed in 1972 and it underwent some repairs in 2008.

But this year, the Ministry of Roads and Bridges was forced to suspend traffic on one of its lanes after it developed faults.

It stands as the only bridge across the Nile in all South Sudan, at least until the completion of the Freedom Bridge.

The Bridge is a life-line as it connects South Sudan to the East African region where most imports are brought in.