The new JP Magufuli Bridge in Tanzania has now been opened to traffic, spanning Lake Victoria. The 3.2km bridge has cost nearly $270 million to build, with the project including 1.7km of connecting roads. This is now the longest bridge in East Africa and Central Africa.
The bridge carries two lanes of traffic in either direction and was built in a joint venture by China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) and China Railway 15th Bureau. The project forms part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The full official name of the link is the John Pombe Magufuli Bridge, after the country’s late president, who pushed for the project to be carried out as one of several key infrastructure works for Tanzania.
Construction of the extradosed, cable-stayed bridge took five years to complete, with delays to the work stemming from the COVID-19 epidemic. The new bridge replaces the ferry service, which took 35 minutes to cross the lake. With the completion of the new bridge, drivers can cross Lake Victoria in just five minutes with the link expected to deliver major economic benefits to Tanzania and the East Africa region as a whole. Neighbouring Uganda, Burundi, Rawanda and Kenya will benefit from the improved transport connection that the new bridge provides. The bridge forms part of the Tanzanian Trunk Road T4 route in the north of the country.
The bridge connects Kigongo in the Mwanza Region with Busisi in the Geita Region, crossing the Gulf of Mwanza. An upgraded 35km road will link the bridge to the city of Mwanza. The Tanzania National Roads Agency (TANROADS) expects traffic levels across the bridge to grow to around 10,200 vehicles/day, a significant increase from the 1,600 vehicles that used the ferry service.
