Historic bridge falls under weight of big semi-trailer

By DOROTHY MARK
A BRIDGE linking North Coast Bogia Highway in Madang collapsed under the weight of a heavy semi-trailer last Thursday, leaving passengers on the busy route to use to canoes and dinghies to cross.
The bridge gave way at about 10.30pm while the semitrailer loaded with the excavator was crossing and escorted by Bogia MP Robert Naguri.
The load just dropped into the river.
Banab Bridge, known to many as the SP Bridge, was built in 1962 but it is understood that no maintenance had been done on it since.
The steel bearers of the bridge were rusty and one side of it was bent. The weight of semitrailer carrying the excavator forced that part down.
Rocky Diau, from the nearby Banab village, said the sound of the collapsed bridge woke the whole village and by the time the villagers got there, there was only half the bridge left.
“The other half was in the the Banab River with the semi-trailer and excavator,” he said.
“The side from Madang town was okay but the side towards Surumarang village was gone.
“We got canoes and dinghies and began transporting passengers at night.”
Diau said passengers who travelled from parts of North Coast and Bogia hoping to go all the way to town were forced off their PMVs and took a canoe ride before catching PMVs on the other side.
“We charge K2 for passengers, K3 for a bag of buai and K10 for a bag of copra,” he said.
The acting commander at Talidig Police Station, Ben Misob, said the incident caused chaos for hundreds of passengers using the national highway.
“The Madang-Bogia highway is a national highway and the Banab Bridge is one of the main links of the highway,” he said.
“People from the Highlands, Sepik, Bogia, Karkar, Bagbag and Manam Islands and Madang use the highway and this has really affected the activities here.”
Karkar and Bagbag Islanders have to pass through that link to catch a boat from Kubugam and Megiar to Karkar.
The people of Sepiks, Bogias and Manams also use it.
Misob said vehicles that had crossed the bridge to Bogia before it collapsed would have to wait on the other side until a crossing was made.
“It’s a sad situation for PMVs from the Highlands that went across
to buy dry coconut and buai,” he said.
The Department of Works and Transport reported that it had assessed the damage.
Misob said five policemen were stationed on each side of the bridge to control traffic and monitor law and order.