After the bridge at Mphaila was severely damaged by the floods about ten days ago, the mayor of Makhado Municipality, Cllr David Mutavhatsindi, launched a project to reconstruct the bridge last Friday.

The new bridge will cost in the region of R12 million.

The bridge at Mphaila is one the nine bridges washed by the heavy rain. Members of the community did not go to work last week and pupils could not go to school because the access roads to school were damaged.

Mutavhatsindi said that his council had set aside R12 million to reconstruct the bridge. He said that the new bridge  would be capable of handling the expected traffic volume in the area. “The construction of this bridge will once again contribute to the economic activities in the area,” he said. He also added that the construction made provision for the employment of local labourers.

It is expected that the work will be finished in August. A community member of Dovhani Makushu said the new bridge would give them access to other areas, even during the rainy time. He added that the elderly could not get their pensions last week, due to the lack of infrastructure after the bridge was damaged.

Mr Jomo Marebane, the manager of Nkhachane Construction, who will do the work, said that they would work hard to finish construction in time. He appealed to motorists to adhere to the traffic rules when the crew was busy working.