The government will reconstruct the Enziu Bridge on the Nuu–Nguni route in Mwingi East subcounty, Public Works Paul Maringa has said.
Maringa said that as a short-term measure, the government would first improve the drift which is almost being swept by water.
“A drift will first be constructed for residents to use as the government continues with the tendering process for the main bridge which stretches up to 100 metres,” Maringa said.
The Enziu River crossing has led to the loss of more than 10 people since April last year.
Last year, four people in a Toyota Probox drowned in the river after they were swept off the bridge.
It took more than three weeks to retrieve their bodies which had been buried deep in the sand.
The PS said other roads including Nuu-Nguni, Mwingi-Nzeluni roads and that connecting Mwingi to the town’s abattoir will also be tarmacked.
The tarmacking of Nuu-Nguni road is already ongoing after it was launched by President Uhuru Kenyatta in July 2017.
The PS also promised residents of Mwingi central that tarmacking of Nuu-Nguni road would be fast-tracked.
Other roads in the constituency would be improved into Bitumen standards in order to improve transport, Maringa said.
Mwingi Central MP Gideon Mulyungi thanked the national government for moving to help affected residents.
“Enziu Bridge is very essential as River Enziu has been causing numerous deaths since time immemorial,” Mulyungi said.
Mulyungi lamented that although President Kenyatta had launched the construction of the Nuu-Nguni road, without the Enziu Bridge, it would have been less profitable to the locals.
“Although River Enziu is a water source to locals, the river has also claimed lives of locals and the call for a bridge is paramount,” Mulyungi said.
