Bridge of death: Govt finally ‘exorcises’ the ghosts of Luri River

Luri Bridge eventually received a facelift after President Salva Kiir unveiled it on Wednesday. The launch finally buried the ghosts of 11 year-old, the lurking danger that hovered over the minds of commenters who have used the road, some whose journey prematurely ended in the deaths at the spot or were maimed by the many accidents that have been recorded at this particular place over the years.

Although done and dusted, the plan to renovate this bridge took a long winding path. To some families, it brought the dark old memories – the broken hearts left by a family or a friend who breathed his/her last here..

Between 2013 and 2021, it it is estimated that around 100 South Sudanese drowned while attempting to cross the flooded Luri River.

Luri Bridge is the main route connecting Western Equatoria State from the capital, Juba. But the events of 2012, a human error would slow down business between the two states and the adjacent neighbourhoods.

The temporarily structure put up just next to the bridge was more of a curse than a blessing. According to experts, the temporary bridge was not raised high enough to secure motorists from the flooded bridge whenever it rains.

For the travellers, God’s grace mattered to get through the wild stream once it rained. So, many of them had to pray before they cross the river, especially when it gets floody.

Barely a month after the commission of the country’s largest Freedom Bridge across the River Nile, on Wednesday President Salva Kiir officially opened the bridge.

President Kiir noted that since a permanent solution to the problem of the phantom bridge had finally been discovered, the population has a reason to celebrate during the commissioning of the Luri Bridge.

“I think people have a reason to celebrate because we got a lasting solution to the river that is killing a lot of people.” Unless someone wants to commit suicide by standing on the bridge and jumping into the water, but otherwise no one can die again because of being pushed into the river by water.”

Martin Friday, a survivor of the Luri Bridge, expressed satisfaction and said that many people now feel hopeful as a result of the bridge’s opening.

“I was one of the survivors in 2019, and ever since then, the Luri River has been what I fear most in life. Whenever I want to go to Juba, I must make sure prayers are the order of the day,” he told.

“I pray as if my requests are never heard by God or that they are never sufficient. Enough. Although Juba was the only city we had, I do not want to go there, but I had no choice but to do it,” Friday added.

However, he said the opening of the new bridge on the river is a major achievement in saving the lives of innocent citizens of the country.

The bridge could have been built long ago, but the government failed to immediately repair it after it collapsed in 2012.

Past incidents

In 2017 and 2019, over 20 people died in the Luri River when the vehicle they were travelling in slipped off the bridge into the river.

The most shocking incident happened in 2019 when the overflowing river dragged a land cruiser into the water, killing up to nine people, among them a mother and her four children.

In 2019, the Transitional National Legislative Assembly allocated SSP86 million for the construction of the deadly bridge.

In the same year, the fund was endorsed as part of the fiscal year budget allocated to the Ministry of Roads and Bridges. However, members of the public have always criticized the government for its reluctance to repair the bridge that has claimed several lives.

In September 2021, four soldiers were confirmed dead after two of their vehicles slipped off the Luri Bridge into the river last Friday. Sixteen officers who were caught up in the same accident survived.

According to the officials, the two vehicles had 20 soldiers. 16 survived, four are still missing under the water, and one vehicle belonging to NSS was recovered but

In the same month, a passenger vehicle overturned into the Luri River, and 14 passengers survived.

The Luri River bridge lies on a road connecting Juba to Western Equatoria and beyond into Bahr el Ghazal State.

Also, in November 2021, 10 mourners were rescued after a Landcruiser they were travelling in overturned at the notorious Luri Bridge as they attempted to cross the overflowing river.

The deceased’s body as well as all the mourners were later found.

Even if it took the lives of loved ones, people must have more celebrations than just days of mourning.