Damaged bridge threatens to cut Adamawa from neigbouring Borno

A partially eroded bridge in Madagali, a town on the northern edge of Adamawa State, is feared likely to collapse soon.

The faulty structure, called Wagga Madagali, has broken up on one side, forcing motorists to use only the half on which vehicles can still ply.

The bridge is strategic for being the only link between northern Adamawa on that side and neighboring southern Borno. It is highly valued by the people in those areas, hence the anxiety about the bridge remaining passable.

The Michika-Madagali highway, on which the faulty bridge is situated, is a riverine plain with many bridges, three of which were bombed at one time by Boko Haram terrorists, while a couple of others were washed away by floods.

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Except for the faulty Wagga Madagali bridge and one other nearby that has yet to be fully rehabilitated, the rest of the damaged bridges were fixed over time by either the Adamawa State government or the interventionist agency, the North East Development Commission (NEDC).

The NEDC, which visited the Wagga Madagali bridge on Friday as part of its tour of its projects in Adamawa State, assured that it would be fixed in no long time.

Chief Executive Officer of the NEDC, Mohammed Alkali, who led other officers of the Commission on the project tour, said the commission would not allow the bridge to collapse.

“Part of the intention of our tour of both completed and ongoing projects is to evaluate the ongoing projects and to provide for their completion,” Alkali told newsmen on the project tour.