Likoni residents have expressed happiness having started using the Liwatoni pedestrian floating bridge after days of trials.
Reuben Mutua, a hawker who lives about 50 metres from where the bridge ends on the Likoni mainland, said the bridge has made things easier for them. He used less than seven minutes to get to Mombasa Island and would have taken him at least 45 minutes using the ferry at the Likoni crossing channel.
“We can now boast of an opening and closing bridge. We only used to see such in photos of Dubai and Qatar,” said Mutua.
Likoni Bridge
Construction works of the Sh.1.7billion project are being carried out by the China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) and overseen by the KeNHA which is under the state’s ministry of transport and infrastructure. Designed for pedestrians only, the Likoni floating bridge deck will comprise a 529 m long floating section, and 54 m long approaches on either side of the floating span. It will have a discrete-continuous structural system with 35 No. double body supported boats, and 2 No. end boats with twin springboards installed to form the floating bridge deck. Its life span is at least 50 years
The floating suspension bridge has been connected by pins and hinges and guard rails will be installed on either side of the deck to ensure pedestrian safety. The Likoni floating footbridge, which is the first of its kind in the region, is expected to complement the existing ferry services to streamline ‘safe passageways’ for pedestrians and reduce overcrowding that characterizes the busy channel and consequently lower the risk of contracting Covid-19 on the vessels that ferry more than 300,000 commuters and approximately 6, 000 vehicles every single day.
The contractor, China Roads and Bridge Corporation will be operating the bridge for the first six months up to June, before handing it over to the Kenya Ports Authority. The bridge will only be used by pedestrians during the day. At night, the bridge will be left open for ships to pass through.
However the bridge is set to be dismantled once the Mombasa Gate Bridge is complete and set up in another area, like Lamu, where it will serve other Kenyans in 2025. Transport CS James Macharia made said that the 824 metre bridge is only a temporary measure for crossing channels.
