SHIPYARD BOSS DEFINES RULES FOR FLOATING BRIDGE USE

By Ashley Mary-Magdalene Foabeh (UB Journalism Student On Internship)

The General Manager of Cameroon Shipyard and Industrial Engineering Company, Zacheus Forjindam, has outlined a number of rules and regulations, to be observed by road users crossing the newly installed floating bridge over the Mungo River.
He was speaking on the occasion of the inauguration ceremony of the pontoon, by Prime Minister Peter Mafany Musonge on August 31 on the bank of the river.
The following rules, Forjindam said, must be observed to preserve the bridge and prevent road accidents:

“Road users must respect traffic signs, only two 50-ton trucks will be allowed per lane at any time, vehicles must avoid stopping on the bridge for tourism; vehicles must keep to their lanes, no overtaking and pedestrians must respect the use of their lanes marked in yellow,” he said.
Forjindam said the collapse of the Mungo Bridge was the most unpleasant surprise. To this effect, he said, a research was carried out to assess two important parts.

“First, we sought to verify the navigability of the Mungo down to the Atlantic Ocean to this point. This was vital to ensure that the proposed pontoon be brought upstream to the point of crossing.
The second point was to assess the hydrological conditions like the currents and seasonal changes in the water levels at the point of crossing,” he said.

Forjindam said; “our company mobilised a dedicated team of some 200 engineers and technicians who worked from July 6 to 31, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to design, refurbish, upgrade and transform our cargo barge into a new mission, that of a floating bridge. This mission was accomplished on July 31, after the pontoon was towed, pushed and tilted, in order to bring it to its resting point, on August 1 following a trip that lasted 12½ hours.”

Shape Of Pontoon

Forjindam said the pontoon is made up of five different components. The first component is the pontoon itself, which he referred to as the nerve centre of the bridge. It is a watertight floating vessel, measuring 96 metres long, 16 metres wide and 3.7 metres deep. The structure under water is 1.2 metres.
“The second component is composed of four steel rends, two of which are located on either side of the pontoon. These rends are 12.25 metres long by four metres wide. Both are hinged on either extremity of the pontoon, to permit access and exit of vehicles and pedestrians, and allow a maximum gradient of 10 percent to access the barge,” he said.

The pontoon is also designed with an inbuilt balancing mechanism, which ensures that the gradient is maintained at eight percent, no matter the water levels.
He said the third component is composed of four platforms each, welded on a group of four pillars, driven to 15 metres depth averagely, to serve as support for the access rends. The fourth component is made up of two positioning piles driven across and through the barge, to hold it in a stable position, in which case the barge is restricted to move only upwards and downwards and not sideways.
The fifth component, he said, which is not visible, is the clearing. It ensures that the pontoon stays in a non-destructive condition.

Forjindam assured the public that the pontoon is safe and able to provide viable links for vehicle and pedestrian trafficking. The pontoon, Forjindam said, comprises two lanes of four metres wide each, separated by a 2.4 metre wide corridor in the middle, two pedestrian paths of 2.7 metres on either sides of the barge with handrails to ensure pedestrian safety.

PM Cautions Drivers

Prime Minister Musonge called on drivers and road users in general, to respect the norms of road usage as outlined by Forjindam.
“Driver error and indiscipline remain the main cause of road accidents,” he said. Drivers, the Prime Minister continued, should, therefore, wake up, respect the Highway Code, ensure that vehicles are in good condition and respect speed limits.
“If you drink, don’t drive and if you drive, don’t drink,” he said.

Musonge said severe sanctions would be meted out on unscrupulous drivers or road users who fail to abide by road norms.
Musonge said tenders have already been advertised for the construction of a new bridge over the River Mungo by the end of this year. Her said upon the collapse of the bridge, the government, on the instructions of the Head of State, set up an inter-ministerial committee, which finally saw to the building and inauguration of the floating bridge.

“The government saw to the regular supply of some essential commodities like gas and petroleum products which were moved by ship from Limbe to Douala,” he said.
He also thanked the population for their courage, understanding, discipline and patience in the face of the many inconveniences caused by the collapse of the bridge. He called on them to vote massively for the CPDM candidate, President Paul Biya in the upcoming Presidential election.

Comments

[francis ngwa]

It was interesting to note that mafany musonge and Fondjindam, both anglophones were sent to "inaugurate" the "just completed" floating bridge to replace the mungo that collapsed.
Has anybody connected this to talk that english speaking cameroon is gradually "floating away" from the rest of the country and "our brothers" in high positions are helping this to happen?

Francis Ngwa.