Engineers repairing the Sh992 million collapsed Sigiri Bridge in Busia have declared it safe.
On Tuesday, the experts tested the bridge on River Nzoia River and confirmed that it can be used by vehicles.
The bridge, which was constructed by Chinese Overseas Construction and Engineering Company, collapsed two weeks after President Uhuru Kenyatta visited the region to inspect it.
The cause of the collapse is yet to be known though it is suspected that construction was hurried.
Project engineer Sylvester Mwamba from Kenya Rural Roads Authority, who led the day-long inspection together with weighbridge officials, said the road was ready for use.
“Both static and dynamic loading has given us positive results concerning the stability of the bridge. During dynamic loading truckloads moved on the bridge at different speeds and we took various measurements.
“We have also loaded the bridge’s three spans with four trucks weighing 30 tonnes each and we recorded positive reviews,” said Mr Mwamba. Completion of the 100-metre bridge marks the end to a long wait for residents who have been travelling for 40 kilometres to cross the river, a distance of less than three kilometres.
“The bridge is 100 per cent complete the reason why we are conducting these tests,” he said.
The bridge collapsed in June 2017, just 10 days after President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto had inspected it. The incident saw 27 labourers injured and rushed to hospital.
Its restoration started a month later after a visit by Transport and Infrastructure Cabinet Secretary James Macharia.
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