By Tichaona Katsvamutima
The government has moved to reassure motorists over the safety of the ageing Birchenough Bridge after a photograph circulating widely on social media sparked fresh concerns about the condition of one of Zimbabwe’s most iconic bridges.
In a detailed statement issued on Friday, the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development said the structure shown in the viral photograph — which appears to show a crack near a steel connection — is not Birchenough Bridge.
“The Ministry wishes to reassure the travelling public that the structure shown in the image is not Birchenough Bridge,” the ministry said.
The ministry sought to substantiate its position by outlining technical differences between the bridge in the photograph and Birchenough Bridge, which spans the Save River between Manicaland and Masvingo.
According to the ministry, Birchenough Bridge is an arch-and-hanger structure, while the bridge shown in the circulating image is a riveted steel truss bridge. Officials also pointed to differences in the steelwork and pedestrian footways.
However, while dismissing the photograph, the ministry acknowledged that Birchenough Bridge operates under safety controls and load restrictions intended to protect the structure and ensure its continued safe use.
“The Ministry wishes to assure the public that Birchenough Bridge remains fit for use under its current controls, and that its condition is kept under continuous professional oversight,” it said.
The assurance is unlikely to completely extinguish concerns over the long-term future of the historic crossing, which has been in service for more than nine decades.
Completed in 1935, Birchenough Bridge is a critical transport link connecting communities and commercial centres in Manicaland and Masvingo. Its age and condition have previously necessitated rehabilitation works and restrictions on the weight of vehicles allowed to cross it.
The government has also acknowledged the need for a longer-term solution, with plans for a new crossing over the Save River having been discussed as the existing bridge approaches a century of service.
Against this backdrop, the viral photograph appears to have tapped into broader public concerns over the deteriorating state of ageing infrastructure, even though the government says it does not depict Birchenough Bridge.
The episode also raises questions about whether dismissing the photograph will be sufficient to reassure the public, or whether authorities should publish recent and detailed engineering inspection reports on Birchenough Bridge to demonstrate its condition.
For now, the ministry maintains that there is no immediate cause for alarm.
“The safety of road users is the Ministry’s foremost priority,” it said.
It urged members of the public to disregard claims that the circulating photograph shows Birchenough Bridge and to rely on official government communication regarding the condition of the country’s bridges.
But observers say with the government already contemplating the eventual replacement of the historic crossing, scrutiny of the 91-year-old Birchenough Bridge is unlikely to disappear simply because a viral photograph has been debunked.
