By Richard Adrama

Arua district will have about 10 bridges when the ongoing construction works of the new ones and renovation of the old ones is completed.

The district engineer, Lawrence Pariyo, on Tuesday said the construction of three new bridges and six valley crossings, and the renovations will cost about sh210m.

“Following the recent floods where culverts were washed away, the works ministry intervened and gave us support to handle some of the critical cases,” Pariyo said.

“The district received 246 meters of culverts and 200 pieces of gabion boxes,” he said. The gabion boxes, Pariyo explained, are meant for emergency repairs on bridges and culverts. Gabions are used in the construction of roads and bridges in valley areas, Pariyo explained.

He said a valley-crossing will be constructed in Ullepi and bridges in Adumi Linya and Erifu. He added that a road connecting Ajia trading centre to Oci Primary School had been fitted with a culvert to control flooding.

Pariyo said gibions will be built on the Ullepi-Offaka-Nyiribu road, which is situated in a valley and is also prone to flooding. “Such valleys have been an impediment to transport and communication. The floods render the roads impassable, especially for cyclists,” he said.

“We will focus on installation works so that projects are completed before the closure of this financial year,” Pariyo added. Last financial year, the district constructed two bridges, one in Pajulu and another in Adumi.