Traffic on National Road Number One (EN1) returned to normal yesterday at the entrance to Manhica village in Maputo province, after 25 days of diversions for the repair of the Limpopo railway line bridge over the highway.

According to Samuel Muzime, Director of Studies and Engineering Projects at Ports and Railways of Mozambique (CFM), which financed the works, the road is now open to normal freight vehicles.

The work included the placement of new defences and impact frames to enforce height limitation often ignored by truck drivers, which resulted in impacts and similar incidents.
Works also included the renewal of signs at the level crossing indicating the presence of the railway line.

“With the works now concluded, it is the CFM’s goal that there are no more violations of the traffic rules, putting at risk the structure of the bridge and, consequently, the movement of trains,” Muzime said.

The source noted that although road issues were not CFM’s responsibility, it was still obliged to properly signpost the railway in order to assure road safety.

Muzime said that the diversion which was put in place to allow the North-South connection while work was underway would remain operational for lorries whose cargo was outside the limits permitted at the Manhica bridge. However, according to Muzime, the conditions of the route diversion were the responsibility of road transport authorities.

The traffic restriction on EN1 followed an accident that occurred when the load on a Transportes Lalgy truck crashed into the railway bridge due to its excessive height of the cargo wrapped in the vehicle.

The repair of the bridge cost more than 25 million meticais, which were disbursed by CFM.

Reference #Source: Notícias – Club of Mozambique