A pick-up truck crosses the river using the temporary bridge.
MIRI (July 16): A temporary bridge has been built to replace the Sungai Baya bridge, which was swept away following heavy rain on Wednesday.
When contacted today, Batu Danau assemblyman Paulus Palu Gumbang said a timber company built the temporary bridge, within 24 hours of the bridge’s collapse, to assist the over 800 residents of Long Napir who had been cut off.
“Following the collapse of the Sungai Baya bridge, a temporary road and bridge have been constructed to connect Long Napir with nearby areas,” he said.
Some 800 villagers from five villages in upper Limbang were cut off after the bridge collapsed and was swept away due to heavy rain on Wednesday night.
The collapsed bridge had been built and maintained by a timber concessionaire.
Long Napir is located around 145km from Limbang.
It can be reached in about four hours using four-wheel drive vehicles on logging roads, while the journey by river takes a day.
Limbang Resident and Limbang Disaster Management Committee chairman Ahmad Denney Ahmad Fauzi had said a report on the collapsed bridge was received by the committee yesterday.
Photo shows the temporary Sungai Baya bridge and road.