Railway Setback As Low Bridge Stops Traffic

According to The Reporter new report vehicles carrying brewing tanks were too big to pass under new bridges constructed as part of the major Ethio-Djibouti railway project.

The convoy stopped around 26km away from the town of Adama, located 100km from the capital Addis Ababa, and remained there for ten days before finding another route.

Engineer Getachew Betru (Ph.D.), CEO of the Ethiopian Railway Corporation (ERC), said that the problem occurred due to the 5.4 meter distance between the bridge and the railway. He confirmed that the corporation has been in talks with the construction company to solve the problems caused by the bridge design, although many adhere to the 5.4 meter length.

“There may be three different ways to overcome this problem, we could increase the height of the bridges, change the route for large vehicles, or transport the freight using trains,” he said.

Because of the spiraling construction budget the corporation is unlikely to increase the height of the bridges, so it would seek another solution to the problem,  Getachew assumed.

The Ethiopian Roads Authority (ERA), the government body responsible for overseeing road construction and the owner of the Ethio-Djibouti highway is unaware of the issue.

The Addis Ababa-Djibouti railway construction is being undertaken by two Chinese companies, at a cost of USD 2.8 million.

Source: The Reporter