Second Bridge over River Wouri. 99% Of Work Executed
Open to traffic for a year, the second bridge over the river Wouri will be definitively received on December 21, 2018.
Emmanuel NGOTA
Assurance was made by Youssef Ben Salah, project manager for the construction of this work, to the Governor of the Littoral Region, Samuel Ivaha Diboua while visiting the shipyard. According to the project manager, the work is carried out at 99% and all that remains to be done is to finalize the bypass routes linking the roundabout Deïdo to the old road of Bonaberi via the old bridge.
To decongest traffic, a traffic plan and repression of the uncivility on the book is announced by the governor of the Littoral. “We are seeing how to conceive the crossing of this bridge so that bikes know which way they will pass, on which side cars will circulate.
Launched in 2013, the entire project of 2800 metres including 760m of crossing the Wouri, was entrusted to the French company Sogea-Satom, and financed by the French Development Agency (AFD) to the sum of 141.6 billion FCFA. This second bridge on the Wouri will allow to thin the traffic from Bonabéri, a district which houses an industrial zone, and the city Centre of Douala and even between the economic capital and the North-West, South-West and Western Regions of the country.
The construction of the 2nd bridge over River Wouri was to say the least a stitch in time given its economic importance not only in Douala but the sub-region as a whole. It is a great relief to inhabitants of the economic capital and links Douala and the South West, West and North West Regions. The bridge which is awaiting official inauguration is one of President Paul Biya’s greater achievement projects.
The construction of the 2nd bridge over River Wouri which is today a reality following the partial opening of the architectural jewel to circulation on October 3, 2017, is described by pundits as timely. The drive towards an emergent economy by 2035 cannot be attained without such infrastructure. The new bridge constructed therefore over River Wouri in the heart of Cameroon’s economic capital is not only an economic lever for the country alone but the Central African sub-region in general. There is no gainsaying reiterating that Douala, is the economic melting pot of the sub-region, serving as the seaport for landlocked countries in the sub-region such as Chad and the Central African Republic. The bridge does not also link the main city and the seaport to the Bonaberi industrial zone, but also links the production basins of the South West, West and North West Regions as well as the Moungo Division of the Littoral Region.
Serving as a link between agricultural production basins and industrial zone, the Wouri Bridge is bound to be under pressure by motorists every moment of the day. Experts say between 50,000 to 60,000 vehicles of all categories ply the bridge every day. The heavy circulation given the dense economic activities in Douala necessitated the construction of another bridge over River Wouri in order to ease pressure on the old 1.2km Wouri Bridge constructed in 1954.
