It's been almost two weeks since the popular Moro Bridge in Kwara State caved in, leaving motorists, as well as market men and women who ply the Mandala/Alapa/Igbeti highway frustrated and helpless, with their losses mounting every day. Weekly Trust reports.

The 100-year old bridge along the Aiyelabowo/Mandala axis, a suburb of Ilorin in Asalocal government area of Kwara State, was a passageway for travellers along the ever busy highway which links the state to neighbouring Oyo State and Benin Republic.

The highway is described as one of the busiest in the country given the high concentration of markets in Kwara and Oyo states along the route, which has consequently increased the volume of vehicular as traders travel daily in pursuance of their livelihood.

The bridge is therefore critical to the survival of thousands of Kwarans and non-Kwarans who make a living from the trading activities they engage in at various markets along the route.

These markets include Mandala, Alapa, Kaiama and Barutenin Kwara;Igbeti, Igboho, Kishi and Saki in Oyo. Besides linking the eight towns, the bridge is the only to Benin Republic via Baruten in Barutenlocal government area of Kwara State.

But traders and motorists have not had it easy for over a decade that the bridge has been failing and falling apart. It has virtually become a recurring nightmare and a trauma for motorists as the bridge intermittently collapses, preventing vehicular movement and impeding trading activities.

Besides, with the recent location of a medium security prison at Mandala, the Nigeria Prisons Service in the state has become a regular user of the bridge, especially in moving inmates to and from Ilorin, the state capital, for court appearances.

However, the latest in the series of failures of the bridge happened last Friday night when a truck with Lagos registration number LSR 692 XB carrying planks, got trapped in the middle of the bridge, leaving motorists agonising and lamenting the virtual closure of the federal highway.

Many motorists and market men and women who left their homes early last Saturday, which was Mandala market day, were disappointed on getting to the bridge even as other traders who were informed of the development stayed back.

One of the traders at Mandala market, Mrs. Aduke Suraju of Pakata area told Weekly Trust that: "Since this bridge collapsed, we have lost huge amounts of money because we cannot go to Mandala and Alapa markets. The alternative route created by motorists is not good enough as we pass through hell trying to meander through the bridge. We appeal to the government to come to our aid."

Daily Trust correspondent observed when he visited the bridge on Thursday that commercial vehicle drivers plying the route had already laid planks on the damaged portion even as transport workers were seen creating an alternative route near the river. It was also gathered that an Okada rider believed to be a policeman, plunged inside the river on Tuesday night, sustaining serious injuries.

The policeman who fell into the river while trying to manoeuvre through the failed part of the bridge, reportedly had broken arms while his motorcycle was yet to be evacuated from the bridge as at the time of filing this report.

A motorist at Oloje Motor Park, who declined to give his name, said: "We didn't know the Okada rider was a policeman. He said he had never used the bridge before and he didn't know it had collapsed until his motorcycle tumbled while trying to pass. He is presently receiving treatment in a hospital."

Since the bridge collapsed, officials of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) and Road Transport Employers' Association of Nigeria (RTEAN), Oloje Motor Park, had to relocate to the highway in an effort to create an alternative passage. They passionately appealed to the federal government to come to their aid by finding a permanent solution to the recurring failure of the bridge.

Motorists and traders urged the government to reconstruct the bridge with concrete facilities that would stand the test of time.

Chairman of RTEAN, Oloje Park, Alhaji Musa Okanlawon, lamented that no government representative had visited the scene since the bridge collapsed. He said motorists have on their own, been working on creating alternative route inside the bush.

"We are left with no option than to see how we can open up an alternative route since we have no other means of livelihood. Our survival depends on plying this road. So we cannot fold our arms since government has refused to come to our aid.

This is not the first, second or third time this bridge would collapse. I remember there was a time some government representatives came to inspect the bridge, up till now, nothing was done," Okanlawon lamented.

"We (motorists) have been responsible for the repairs and maintenance of the bridge, but it would cave in as soon as we repair it. We are indeed frustrated and tired," he added.

His NURTW counterpart, Alhaji Ibrahim Olaiya,noted that: "We are facing untold hardship on this bridge. Government should please and intervene as soon as possible. We don't want their money or anything other than to fix this bridge which is giving us sleepless night".

Kwara State NURTW chairman, AlhajiIssa Ore, also called on the federal government to come to the aid of motorists and traders in that axis whom he noted were facing hard times following the failure of the bridge.

Commenting on the importance of the bridge to people in the axis, Ore noted that: "It is like the economic livewire of many people, including motorists and the market people. Now people would be grumbling that we increase transport fare but do we have option when we had to resort to a longer route because of the bridge?"