Construction work ongoing on the Luri river at the outskirts of Juba, South Sudan. Credit| Obaj Okuj/Eye Radio

The construction of the deadly Luri Bridge will be completed by the end of 2021, the Ministry of Roads and Bridges has said.

“Luri Bridge which has taken a lot of our dears’ lives for last 10 years, now the work is on,” the government said.

A new bridge, separate from the old dilapidated one, is being constructed on Luri River while the road towards Mundri is being tarmacked.

Luri Bridge connects the capital, Juba, with the states of Western Equatoria, Western Bahr el Ghazal and Lakes.

The development comes after years of failed plans by the national government to fulfil its obligations towards building the bridge.

The bridge collapsed in 2012 and ever since, it floods whenever it rains heavily.

Since then, Eye Radio had been reporting the death of dozens of people and properties claimed by the bridge, especially during the rainy season.

The last widely reported incident occured in August 2019, when the overflowing river dragged a land cruiser into the water, killing six people – including women and children.

Before that, at least six people drowned after a vehicle carrying mourners disappeared into the same Luri River in 2017.

In 2019, the National Legislative assembly allocated 86 million South Sudanese Pounds for the rehabilitation of the bridge.

The construction of the Luri Bridge was reportedly launched last week by the A.R.C construction company.

On an inspection tour over the weekend, Eye Radio’s Obaj Okuj saw concrete and steely pillars at the site and workers were busy carrying out construction.

“We are preparing for the [official] launching by his Excellency the President,” Simon Mijok, minister of roads and bridges, told reporters.

“As you can see the machines are on and I must thank the contractor, A.R.C and sub-contractors for the tremendous job they have done for the last four months.”

In 2017, the government allocated over 6 million pounds for the rehabilitation of the Luri Bridge, but the construction work failed to start.

President Salva Kiir had even instructed the army engineering corps to maintain the bridge, but the army did not carry out the required maintenance.

The government says the bridge is also important in the mining sector as some minerals are being exploited in parts of Luri.