Introduction to cnic's role in the construction of the barge accross the River Mungo.

For those acquainted with the history of Cameroon , or who live in and have a good knowledge of Cameroon , Thursday 1 st July 2004 has a macabre significance. Traditionally celebrated as Armed Forces Day with the wearing of new rank epaulettes by promoted personnel of the armed forces, this generally festive day defied tradition and ended on a very sad note for Cameroonians. Shortly after 11pm that night, whereas most Cameroonians had gone to bed in preparation for the next working day, the nation suddenly came alive with the bewildering news of the collapse of the Mungo Bridge .

This frightful occurrence set the stage for a flurry of activities; crises meetings holding in quick succession at the helm of Government's decision making mechanism; the rush of the riverine population to certify or even contradict the veracity of this happening and the feeling of a sense of loss stemming from the lack of immediate answers to the multitude of questions generated by this accident.

All of this sad yet intense drama created by the collapse of the bridge was justifiably explained by the socio-economic importance of this bridge and its historical symbolism in a context of national unity and integration.

In résumé, the collapse of the bridge signified the immediate and complete interruption of all traffic and activity on the second highest used highway in Cameroon with average daily traffic estimated at 3500 vehicles. In concrete socio-economic and political terms, this meant the brutal severage of all links between the South West province and the vibrant economic capital of Cameroon – Douala .

In the face of this highly volatile situation and following an engineering solution proposed by CNIC, Cameroon 's public authorities mandated the Management of the Cameroon Shipyard and Industrial Engineering Ltd. (CNIC) to provide the appropriate and urgent solution. In accepting this assignment, CNIC had tacitly inherited the entire burden of the State of Cameroon in this respect: Managing and seeking a solution to the anxiety of the population, providing an answer to the frustrations of the economic operators and restoring a delicate national political symbol.

CNIC'S PROMINENT ROLE IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF A BARGE OVER RIVER MUNGO

On the night of 1 st July 2004, Cameroonians received with consternation and profound apprehension news of the collapse of the Mungo Bridge as a result of a fatal fuel truck accident. The apprehension could be explained by the public awareness of the historical significance of the bridge and its strategic relevance in the movement of goods and people between the South West and Littoral Provinces or better, between the English and French-speaking provinces of Cameroon . The collapse of this bridge meant that all activity on the second highest used highway in Cameroon – average daily traffic estimated at some 3500 vehicles – would either be completely interrupted or severely disrupted on this most vital, accessible and convenient link between the South West Province and Cameroon's economic capital – Douala. The socio-economic and political ramifications of this situation were enormous and public authorities had to take emergency measures to prevent this highly volatile situation from deteriorating even further.

It is against this backdrop that CNIC was ushered into the scene to provide an urgent temporary solution pending the construction of a new permanent bridge over the river Mungo. Far from being an ordinary assignment, this was more of a challenge which CNIC's Management decided to meet squarely. Since any proper project implementation or execution depends on prior planning, the General Manager held a series of crises meetings with his close collaborators to examine possibilities of reinstating traffic across the river Mungo.

The CNIC Pontoon code-named “CNIC 3” was found suitable for this application because its length, 96m matched the width of the river, and the width 16m would allow for dual drive ways, pedestrian walkways and a middle technical no-thoroughfare zone for access manholes into the barge ballast tanks. The barge had a light weight draft of 1m.

CNIC took immediate steps to mobilise a light craft with about the same draft as the barge to make its way up the river. The trip, initially estimated to last about 4 hours, finally took 24 hours as the vessel had to battle its way through sand banks and mud catches. The very shallow downstream part for the river could only be navigable by the barge at the equinox tide of the 1 st and 2 nd of August. This date, naturally, became a milestone component on the project map.

The CNIC 3 pontoon was demobilised from its habitual use as a work-barge for rig repair and moved into dry dock for bottom survey, repairs and general upgrading. This one time tank cargo-barge required deck strengthening to effectively serve as a floating bridge. Consequently, during the 3-week dry dock duration, a total of 50 tons of new steel were fitted and welded to assure that the barge would serve as a temporary bridge for at least two years under even the most severe operating conditions. For safety, crash and safety railing was installed to the sides of the barge.

For this purpose, while repairs undertaken in dry dock absorbed a 200-strong man technical team, simultaneous work was also engaged at different sites within the yard on the construction of the 4 access ramps, each 12m long by 4 m wide. Built sturdy to carry up to 15 tons axle weight, the ramps welded from 300mm H beams and a steel surface plating of 14mm thick, each weighed 17 tons.

Each ramp was equipped to one end with 8 pivot brackets lined and check welded for in-situ hitch free mounting to corresponding pivot pad eyes that were lined and welded to the barge. The other end was fitted to the bottom with a half pipe sliding rail to allow slight sliding movements of the ramps on the access platforms. To compensate obstruction in the flow of the river due to that barge in way, the banks of the river were widened to 5m each way at this location. The barge was moved into position and secured by air operated winches that had earlier been installed to this effect. Access ramps were lifted, positioned and pivot pins installed for access on the barge.

Upon the completion of installation works, the next assignment involved the execution of civil works concerning the tarring of driveways and access ramps whose completion paved the way for testing operations. To this end, in order to guarantee the safety of the bridge during operation, SGS and HYDRAC both internationally recognised regulatory bodies prescribed and supervised very rigorous utilisation tests carried out using four heavy duty trucks of 50 tons capacity each.

On the strength of their certification of the technical quality of the pontoon thus put in place, its resistance and safety guarantees, the barge was officially commissioned by H. E. the Prime Minister and Head of Government during a colourful ceremony that witnessed the presence of several members of the Diplomatic corps, members of Government, prominent Administrative Authorities of the Littoral and South West provinces, General Managers, Political authorities and Traditional Rulers, Civil society personalities, prominent Economic Operators etc.

In accordance with a systematic maintenance calendar established prior to the inauguration of the bridge, routine certification-inspection and maintenance works have been undertaken twice since its commissioning. The most recent and consistent maintenance works were executed from 27 th February to 26 th April 2005 entailing the permanent deployment of a total of 85 employees including engineers, senior technicians, industrial welders, fitter machinists, electricians etc.