Engineers seen working on the part of a damaged Juba Bridge on 6 March 2020 | Credit | Okot Emmanuel/Eye Radio

One lane of the Juba Bridge will be closed for the next two months to allow for maintenance works, according to the managing director of Rhino Star Construction Company.

Peter Atem disclosed to Eye Radio that the work will commence this month.

He said the condition of the bridge has deteriorated over time. Engineer Atem stated that the inbound lane requires more fixing.

In April 2020, the company completed the rehabilitation of parts of the bridge after parts of the super-structures holding the bridge could not hold heavy trucks or live loads.

“According to the schedule that we have, we have to change them in two years,” Atem explained.

But the work was done on the inbound lane only. Atem said the parts that were repaired recently have already weakened.

He warned the bridge may collapse if not attended to quickly and properly.

However, Atem could not disclose how much it will cost to maintain the bridge this time round. Last year’s reconstruction works alone cost $4 million.

In 2020, the Ministry of Roads and Bridges was forced to suspend traffic on one of its lanes after it developed faults.

The Juba Bridge was constructed in 1972 and it underwent some repairs in 2008.

It stands as the only bridge across the Nile in all South Sudan, at least until the completion of the Freedom Bridge.

The Bridge is a lifeline as it connects South Sudan to the East African region where most imports are brought in.