Collapsed bailey bridge over the Sanquin river in Sinoe County
Two Weeks After Construction
By:
King Samora II
The Wednesday, January 27, 2010 edition of one of the local dailies carried a story regarding the collapse of a bridge built on the Sanquin River in Sinoe County. The construction of the Bailey bridge was recently greeted with euphoria by citizens of the area because of the relief provided by the bridge which links most of the south-eastern counties; it facilitated movement of the people, goods and services.
The collapse of the bridge, which was more than 180 feet in length, barely two weeks after its completion, has left residents, businessmen and women expressing frustration and utter astonishment over the untimely collapse of the bridge.
The bridge reportedly collapsed on December 22, 2009 when a truck, loaded with planks apparently destined for Monrovia, mounted the bridge in an effort to cross. The bridge reportedly gave way with several passengers on board the truck sustaining various degrees of injury.
The residents, who are direct beneficiaries of the bridge project, attributed the collapse of the bridge to poor construction work and lack of ‘engineering expertise’ on the part of the company which undertook the construction. The questions that immediately demand answers are:
1. Who constructed the Sanquin River Bridge?
2. Did Public Works inspect the facilities of the construction company in question, namely, offices, equipment and other requirements that warrant a permit?
3. Did the Ministry of Public Works supervise the work to ascertain compliance with specifications?
Investigation has revealed that the damaged bridge was constructed by a locally-based American company, West Construction (Liberia) Incorporated, through a sub-contractual agreement from the Liberia Community Infrastructure Program (LCIP), while the Ministry of Public Works contributed technical supervision. In essence, the construction of the bridge was a collaborative effort overseen by the three institutions listed above. Thereafter, the early failure of such concerted effort raises even more questions.
USAID
The history of United States Agency for International Development (USAID) dates back to 1961 with the Marshall Plan for the reconstruction of Europe after World War II and the Foreign Assistance Act.
As a part of the American foreign affairs restructuring laws enacted in 1999, USAID was established by the Government of the United States as a statutory independent agency, primarily organized around individual country development programs, each of which is shaped at meeting the needs of the recipient country. The Mission identifies specific programs of the country’s government and development organizations for USAID’s assistance of which Liberia is no exception. Liberia hugely benefits from such assistance after 14 years of civil war, which destroyed all that we had as a nation.
Essentially, therefore, USAID’s interventions are humanitarian in nature.
However, the recent picture being exhibited by the organization’s counterpart, Liberia Community Infrastructure Program (LCIP)/West Construction (Liberia) Incorporated (sub-contractor), has raised some apprehension over the execution of the bridge project in question. Again the following questions readily come to mind:
1. Did LCIP provide detailed information about West Construction (Liberia) Incorporated before American taxpayers’ fund was released?
2. Did LCIP submit any report to USAID on the recent collapse of the bridge, whose initial lifespan was just two weeks? If yes, when will the report be made public?
3. Lastly, is there any future plan to hire the same company to fix the bridge?
For the sake of accountability, the Liberian people would like answers to these questions.
LCIP
The Liberia Community Infrastructure Program (LCIP) was established as the United States Government’s leading partner in the international effort for the Reintegration and Reconstruction (RR) of Liberia, as stated in the 2003 Ghana Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA). According to LCIP’s website, the program was also introduced as a national effort in supporting the reintegration of ex-combatants and war-affected groups into their respective communities.
With this background, one would surmise that the organization is prepared to meet the challenges associated with the objectives of its mission as they relate to rural and peri-urban projects.
However, their operation in the case of the collapsed bridge raises eyebrows and casts doubts over their operation in the country. How can a bridge whose construction cost is over US$1 million collapse over such a short period after construction?
The public would want to know answers to the following:
1. What process was used in the selection of West Construction (Liberia) Incorporated to build the bridge?
2. How long has West Construction (Liberia) Incorporated been working and where?
3. Does West Construction (Liberia) Incorporated have office(s) in the country to deserve such contract?
MPW
The Ministry of Public Works (MPW) is the arm of government which supervises all major construction works in Liberia and also responsible for the issuance of certificates classification to all would-be construction companies working in Liberia.
With this background, one could conclude that a construction project in which three institutions collaborated is bound to succeed. But the recent collapse of Sanquin Bailey Bridge has become disappointing.
The public will now want to know answers to the following questions:
1. What did West Construction (Liberia) Incorporated present to the MPW before the company was awarded certificate?
2. Did the Ministry visit offices of West Construction (Liberia) Incorporated before the issuance of permit?
3. Did Public Works Ministry actually supervise the work while construction was going on and what was their observation?
West Construction (Liberia) Incorporated
As far as information gathered on this construction company, virtually nothing concrete has been accomplished by it in Liberia.
The company has no single office anywhere in Liberia but information reliably received and confirmed says that one of the heads of the company uses his residence as office. How then can such entity be accredited or certificated?
This raises further questions:
1. Can West Construction Company respond to its capability regarding the construction of the bridge and its tract record in Liberia?
2. Where can one find the offices of West Construction (Liberia) Incorporated in Monrovia or any part of the country?
3. What are the operational links between LCIP and West Construction (Liberia) Incorporated regarding the construction of the bridge?
While it is true that Liberians appreciate the massive support being offered by USAID/LCIP in the country’s reconstruction process, we also would want delivery of expert work being financed by American taxpayers’ hard-earned money.
The Old Bridge connecting Water-side and Vai Town, built by Raymond Concrete Pile for the sole purpose of constructing the Freeport of Monrovia from 1946 to 48, survived for some 50 years despite the fact that heavy and light equipment frequently used it. We also have Caldwell Bridge – 1963-64, which was constructed for the building of the Hydro Power Plant in White Plain. The lists are many. If these bridges that were built for transporting heavy equipment could last for so long, one wonders why the Sanquin Bailey Bridge collapsed so soon.
To conclude, this writer wants readers to know that he has no specific bone to crack with the three entities involved in the construction of the Bridge. He presents the facts as he saw them after a recent visit to the area and after interactions with residents and the business community.
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Updated: February 7, 2010 - 4:08pm
The Wednesday, January 27, 2010 edition of one of the local dailies carried a story regarding the collapse of a bridge built on the Sanquin River in Sinoe County. The construction of the Bailey bridge was recently greeted with euphoria by citizens of the area because of the relief provided by the bridge which links most of the south-eastern counties; it facilitated movement of the people, goods and services.
The collapse of the bridge, which was more than 180 feet in length, barely two weeks after its completion, has left residents, businessmen and women expressing frustration and utter astonishment over the untimely collapse of the bridge.
The bridge reportedly collapsed on December 22, 2009 when a truck, loaded with planks apparently destined for Monrovia, mounted the bridge in an effort to cross. The bridge reportedly gave way with several passengers on board the truck sustaining various degrees of injury.
The residents, who are direct beneficiaries of the bridge project, attributed the collapse of the bridge to poor construction work and lack of ‘engineering expertise’ on the part of the company which undertook the construction. The questions that immediately demand answers are:
1. Who constructed the Sanquin River Bridge?
2. Did Public Works inspect the facilities of the construction company in question, namely, offices, equipment and other requirements that warrant a permit?
3. Did the Ministry of Public Works supervise the work to ascertain compliance with specifications?
Investigation has revealed that the damaged bridge was constructed by a locally-based American company, West Construction (Liberia) Incorporated, through a sub-contractual agreement from the Liberia Community Infrastructure Program (LCIP), while the Ministry of Public Works contributed technical supervision. In essence, the construction of the bridge was a collaborative effort overseen by the three institutions listed above. Thereafter, the early failure of such concerted effort raises even more questions.
USAID
The history of United States Agency for International Development (USAID) dates back to 1961 with the Marshall Plan for the reconstruction of Europe after World War II and the Foreign Assistance Act.
As a part of the American foreign affairs restructuring laws enacted in 1999, USAID was established by the Government of the United States as a statutory independent agency, primarily organized around individual country development programs, each of which is shaped at meeting the needs of the recipient country. The Mission identifies specific programs of the country’s government and development organizations for USAID’s assistance of which Liberia is no exception. Liberia hugely benefits from such assistance after 14 years of civil war, which destroyed all that we had as a nation.
Essentially, therefore, USAID’s interventions are humanitarian in nature.
However, the recent picture being exhibited by the organization’s counterpart, Liberia Community Infrastructure Program (LCIP)/West Construction (Liberia) Incorporated (sub-contractor), has raised some apprehension over the execution of the bridge project in question. Again the following questions readily come to mind:
1. Did LCIP provide detailed information about West Construction (Liberia) Incorporated before American taxpayers’ fund was released?
2. Did LCIP submit any report to USAID on the recent collapse of the bridge, whose initial lifespan was just two weeks? If yes, when will the report be made public?
3. Lastly, is there any future plan to hire the same company to fix the bridge?
For the sake of accountability, the Liberian people would like answers to these questions.
LCIP
The Liberia Community Infrastructure Program (LCIP) was established as the United States Government’s leading partner in the international effort for the Reintegration and Reconstruction (RR) of Liberia, as stated in the 2003 Ghana Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA). According to LCIP’s website, the program was also introduced as a national effort in supporting the reintegration of ex-combatants and war-affected groups into their respective communities.
With this background, one would surmise that the organization is prepared to meet the challenges associated with the objectives of its mission as they relate to rural and peri-urban projects.
However, their operation in the case of the collapsed bridge raises eyebrows and casts doubts over their operation in the country. How can a bridge whose construction cost is over US$1 million collapse over such a short period after construction?
The public would want to know answers to the following:
1. What process was used in the selection of West Construction (Liberia) Incorporated to build the bridge?
2. How long has West Construction (Liberia) Incorporated been working and where?
3. Does West Construction (Liberia) Incorporated have office(s) in the country to deserve such contract?
MPW
The Ministry of Public Works (MPW) is the arm of government which supervises all major construction works in Liberia and also responsible for the issuance of certificates classification to all would-be construction companies working in Liberia.
With this background, one could conclude that a construction project in which three institutions collaborated is bound to succeed. But the recent collapse of Sanquin Bailey Bridge has become disappointing.
The public will now want to know answers to the following questions:
1. What did West Construction (Liberia) Incorporated present to the MPW before the company was awarded certificate?
2. Did the Ministry visit offices of West Construction (Liberia) Incorporated before the issuance of permit?
3. Did Public Works Ministry actually supervise the work while construction was going on and what was their observation?
West Construction (Liberia) Incorporated
As far as information gathered on this construction company, virtually nothing concrete has been accomplished by it in Liberia.
The company has no single office anywhere in Liberia but information reliably received and confirmed says that one of the heads of the company uses his residence as office. How then can such entity be accredited or certificated?
This raises further questions:
1. Can West Construction Company respond to its capability regarding the construction of the bridge and its tract record in Liberia?
2. Where can one find the offices of West Construction (Liberia) Incorporated in Monrovia or any part of the country?
3. What are the operational links between LCIP and West Construction (Liberia) Incorporated regarding the construction of the bridge?
While it is true that Liberians appreciate the massive support being offered by USAID/LCIP in the country’s reconstruction process, we also would want delivery of expert work being financed by American taxpayers’ hard-earned money.
The Old Bridge connecting Water-side and Vai Town, built by Raymond Concrete Pile for the sole purpose of constructing the Freeport of Monrovia from 1946 to 48, survived for some 50 years despite the fact that heavy and light equipment frequently used it. We also have Caldwell Bridge – 1963-64, which was constructed for the building of the Hydro Power Plant in White Plain. The lists are many. If these bridges that were built for transporting heavy equipment could last for so long, one wonders why the Sanquin Bailey Bridge collapsed so soon.
To conclude, this writer wants readers to know that he has no specific bone to crack with the three entities involved in the construction of the Bridge. He presents the facts as he saw them after a recent visit to the area and after interactions with residents and the business community.