Matadi Bridge

Matadi Bridge / OEBK Bridge
Coordinates 5°49′28″S 13°26′02″E / 5.824466°S 13.433865°E / -5.824466; 13.433865Coordinates: 5°49′28″S 13°26′02″E / 5.824466°S 13.433865°E / -5.824466; 13.433865
Crosses Congo River
Locale Matadi
Characteristics
Design Suspension bridge
Total length 722 metres (2,369 ft)
Longest span 520 metres (1,710 ft)
History
Construction start 1979
Opened 1983

The Matadi Bridge, also known as the OEBK Bridge, is a suspension bridge across the Congo River at the port of Matadi, Democratic Republic of Congo. It is the largest suspension bridge in Africa. It was completed in 1983 by a consortium of Japanese companies. It has a main span of 520 metres (1,710 ft), and crosses the Congo River. It is in fact the only bridge to cross the Congo river proper; the only other bridge is found on the Lualaba River, namely the Kongolo Bridge, near the town Kongolo, in the eastern province Katanga - some 2,200 km to the east by road or 3,800 on the Congo river.

Construction

Matadi Bridge was completed in 1983 by a consortium of Japanese companies.[1] It has a main span of 520 metres (1,710 ft) and crosses the Congo River.[2] Matadi Bridge was built with 14,000 tons of steel.[3] The bridge is designed in a way to emphasize that the towers are made up of bar members, with each tower being a single rigid frame.[4] 25 million of 34.5 million Japanese yen invested in the bridge returned to Japan.[3] During war time the bridge was guarded and still remains as of 2016.[2]

Railway

The railway line across the bridge is either no longer used for a line to Boma and Muanda or yet to be used.[5]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Morikawa, Jun (January 1997). Japan and Africa: Big Business and Diplomacy. C. Hurst & Co. Publishers. p. 138. ISBN 978-1-85065-141-3.
  2. 1 2 Shimomura, Yasutami; Page, John; Kato, Hiroshi (26 January 2016). Japan’s Development Assistance: Foreign Aid and the Post-2015 Agenda. Palgrave Macmillan UK. pp. 48–. ISBN 978-1-137-50538-5.
  3. 1 2 Bernstein, Gail Lee; Fukui, Haruhiro (3 January 2016). Japan and the World: Essays on Japanese History and Politics. Palgrave Macmillan UK. p. 211. ISBN 978-1-349-08682-5.
  4. ↑ Bridge Aesthetics Around the World. Transportation Research Board. 1991. p. 130. ISBN 978-0-309-05072-2.
  5. ↑ Railway Gazette International September 2012, p. 42.


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