As SLRA rehabilitates City Bridge, Abacha traders may move to Peterson St
The Sierra Leone Roads Authority (SLRA) has proposed to the Freetown City Council that traders marketing their wares along Abacha Street and Goderich Street occupy Peterson Street, following the completion of the rehabilitation of the Bambara Spring Bridge.
Completed work on the rehabilitated bridge has created more space for traders while allowing the free flow of vehicular and human traffic along Abacha Street. This development has already been welcomed both by traders and commuters using Abacha Street, and who see the presence of traders on the street as an obstacle to the free movement of people in the city.
Reports indicate that the Freetown City Council has been searching for an alternative venue to relocate the traders, and the traders had also expressed willingness to be relocated, the problem was however over the appropriate venue.
Peterson Street located in the central business district of the city, will be the ideal location as it might even contain traders from the Dove Cot Market, Abacha Street and Salad Ground which if located along the same coordinates will not interference with normal traffic and vehicular flow.
Whilst many expect that the successful completion of the Bambara Spring Bridge by Sierra Leone Road Authority (SLRA) will help with vehicular and human traffic in the city; the country’s road authority has offered that the place be used to accommodate those doing their trading on city routes that affect the normal flow of traffic in the busy central business district more so to the rather less conservative area that has just been completed and ready for use.
The Bambara Spring Bridge was constructed in the 80s as a foot bridge for pedestrians. As a result of negligence by the past government, the bridge gradually started to lean and with time, it finally collapsed. Notwithstanding its importance as a link from the central part of the city to the eastern part, no rehabilitation work was undertaken.
The present work done on the bridge by the SLRA has been commended as a great venture, and for which the present government has received accolades.
Whilst it is expected that traders will soon benefit from the Peterson Street link, residents in the city constantly using the Sani Abacha Street will breathe a sigh of relief as human and vehicular traffic will be expected to flow with relative ease.
The new bridge according to engineers at the SLRA consists of huge piers underpinning a resilient platform capable of carrying vehicles and humans no matter the load weigh. Peterson Street Bridge is located in the residential neighborhoods of Goderich Street, adjourning Regent Street and the bridge itself forms a parallel street with the Goderich Street Bridge.
The foot bridge served as a thoroughfare for pedestrians traversing the upper Freetown area on to the East and the popular foodstuff market areas of Dove Cut, Mabella and Guard Street.
The completion of this bridge is part of great efforts garnered by the country’s biggest statutory institution in building the country’s infrastructure. In the recent past the SLRA had impressed its mark of untiring synergy by not only constructing and rehabilitating roads across the country but by also collaborating with other institutions chiefly the Local Councils in mustering energy towards increased access to local economy and livelihood through road construction.
If it was not the devolution of functions to Local Councils or the collaboration with private contractors for better quality infrastructure development, it would be SLRAs tremendous work around the city to include eastern carriageway like Barracks Old Road, Old Wellington Road and Newcastle Street drainage construction in Kissy.
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