PIRDE, Kurdistan Region – The Pirde bridge connecting Erbil and Kirkuk provinces still has not been permanently repaired after it was damaged in October 2017 in clashes between the Peshmerga and Iraqi armed forces.
The road was partially reopened in August 2018 after a temporary fix, but it may be closed because cracks have appeared in the structure.
Truck drivers with heavy loads are part of the problem, but they say they have no alternative.
"The bridge is not safe," said truck driver Mohammed Abdulaziz. "Myriads of vehicles commute on it."
"We pass over it with panic,” said another truck driver. “It may collapse at any time as the steel is not stable."
According to an earlier agreement between the KRG and the Iraqi government, the original concrete bridge, built in 1979, was to be repaired by Baghdad. Construction has not started, however, and Baghdad has not set aside funds for it.
"Not even a penny is earmarked for the project. That is why the bridge has remained unreconstructed," Abdulmutalib Najmaldin, mayor of Pirde, told Rudaw.
Abdulmutalib urged Kirkuk and Erbil municipalities and relevant authorities to assess the steel bridge and repair it.
According to estimates from the Iraqi government, repairing the original bridge will cost one billion dinar ($838,500), but Kurdish authorities believe it could be fixed for half that amount.
"We believe the amount of money estimated for the repair of the bridge is too much, because according to our estimates in Erbil, half the amount is needed for the repairs," Hunar Nuri, general manager of Kurdistan Region's Roads and Reconstruction department, told Rudaw.
He added they have no coordination with the Iraqi government about the repairs to the bridge.
Reporting by Hardi Mohammed
The road was partially reopened in August 2018 after a temporary fix, but it may be closed because cracks have appeared in the structure.
Truck drivers with heavy loads are part of the problem, but they say they have no alternative.
"The bridge is not safe," said truck driver Mohammed Abdulaziz. "Myriads of vehicles commute on it."
"We pass over it with panic,” said another truck driver. “It may collapse at any time as the steel is not stable."
According to an earlier agreement between the KRG and the Iraqi government, the original concrete bridge, built in 1979, was to be repaired by Baghdad. Construction has not started, however, and Baghdad has not set aside funds for it.
"Not even a penny is earmarked for the project. That is why the bridge has remained unreconstructed," Abdulmutalib Najmaldin, mayor of Pirde, told Rudaw.
Abdulmutalib urged Kirkuk and Erbil municipalities and relevant authorities to assess the steel bridge and repair it.
According to estimates from the Iraqi government, repairing the original bridge will cost one billion dinar ($838,500), but Kurdish authorities believe it could be fixed for half that amount.
"We believe the amount of money estimated for the repair of the bridge is too much, because according to our estimates in Erbil, half the amount is needed for the repairs," Hunar Nuri, general manager of Kurdistan Region's Roads and Reconstruction department, told Rudaw.
He added they have no coordination with the Iraqi government about the repairs to the bridge.
Reporting by Hardi Mohammed
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