Consternation in Union Street

A truck carrying an 86 tons bridge component, destined for Botswana via the Botswana Dry Port in the port of Walvis Bay, broke down in Union Street on Tuesday night. As a result, the component had to be offloaded from the truck, prompting the closure of a section the street.

Walvis Bay Plant & Tool Hire safely lifted the component from the immobilised truck and placed it next to the street at around 01:00 on Wednesday. At around 08:45 on Wednesday the component was lifted onto a multi-wheel trailer and taken to the yard of Walvis Bay Plant & Tool Hire where another truck loaded it for transport to Botswana.
The Mohembo bridge, once all components are bolted together, would be around 1,2 km long and span the Cubango River at Mohembo. Many communities in the Mohembo area on the eastern side of the River are cut off from communities on the western side. The bridge would provide two-way access and also open up opportunities to extend the road network and accompanied economic growth potential.
A total of 160 truck loads are required to transport all the bridge components from the Botswana Dry Port to Botswana. The operations are coordinated by Botswana Rail which operates the Botswana Dry Port at Walvis Bay.