Public Works Minister, Ruth Coker-Collins has urged the people of Grand Bassa County and others to maintain their composure as a team of engineers has been sent to the county to investigate the sudden crack in the St. John River bridge.
She said, “We encourage the citizens of Grand Bassa County, in fact the entire country, to be calm. Our team of engineers has been dispatched to ensure that the situation is addressed.”
However, Minister Coker-Collins appealed came after panic engulfed the people of Bassa, especially travelers along the Monrovia-Buchanan highway since reports over the deplorable state of the St. John River bridge, which links the county to the Margibi and Montserrado counties.
The St. John Bridge is one of the country’s largest that connects Grand Bassa to other counties. Over the weekend, citizens and county officials saw cracks in the bridge and immediately contacted the ministry of public works to quickly intervene to prevent casualty.
But Minister Coker-Collins in an interview over the weekend, attributed the cracks to the long lifespan of the bridge that weakened the bearings, and thereby declared that no heavy vehicle will be allowed to drive on the Bridge.
“We just got the information that our people are panicking because of the bridge so we just thought of giving a quick update on what is happening. From photos we have seen around, the bearing burst,” she maintained.
Meanwhile, the Public Works minister has described as an “emergency” the St. John River bridge and assured citizens that the issue would be addressed within a couple of months.
“Of course it is an emergency but we cannot cut off the entire movement of vehicles. We encourage smaller vehicles to ply. We will work along with the Justice Ministry to stop heavy vehicles on that corridor,” she added.