HISTORY ABAY RIVER
Abay means the largest of all rivers. Abay is the largest tributary of the Nile which originates from Ethiopia. The Great River accounts about 70 percent of the volume of the country's rivers.
The Nile River has a total length of 1450 km’s. It travels about 800 km inland. The Nile, which flows southwest of Lake Tana and flows northwest of the country, is about 400 km long. Abay River which traverses through valleys is a barrier to keep in touch with the rest of the Country without a bridge.
Although there are active rivers that flow into Lake Tana, a small source known as the Geshe Abay is believed to be the source of the Nile. The Abay River, later known as the "Black Nile" or "Blue Nile", crosses the Ethiopian border into Sudan and merges with its partner, the White Nile, In Khartoum, thereafter enters the Mediterranean Sea.
Looking back on the beginnings of the construction of a bridge in Ethiopia, in the 16th century AD, the first stone bridge that crossed the abay River was built on a narrow cliff near the Abay Falls.
This is the first bridge built on the Abay River during the reign of Emperor Susuniyos in 1612 A.D. And that first bridge built on the ABAY River is called the Egg Bridge.
The bridge has played a significant role in the history of Ethiopian bridge construction at a time when construction technology was not advanced as it is today. The historical bridge is named the Egg Bridge until now because it was constructed using eggs as a cementing material to bond the stones together.
The 400-year-old egg bridge is what we call an Arch type of Bridge constituting 8 sections. History tells us that thousands of bridges crossing rivers have been built in Ethiopia so far. Among these bridges several of them are constructed on the Great Abay River.
While Abay River travels for around 800 km in its homeland of Ethiopia, history tells us that beginning from the 17th century until today, 10 bridges crossing Abay river were built in various locations.
ABOUT ABAY RIVER BRIDGE
The marvelous Bahirdar Abay River Extradosed Bridge has an overall span of 380 meters. The Bridge when completed will have a cross-sectional width of 43 meters that will accommodate 6 vehicles on the left and right lane, a two way bicycle lane and a 5 meter walkway on both sides. The Bridge with a project cost of 51million $ will be constructed by CCCC who entered into a contract agreement on August 05, 2019.
The projects supervision will be done by a Turkish consultant named BOTEK Bosphorus in sub consultancy with STADIA Engineering Works Consultant. The project which is financed by the Government of Ethiopia is expected to be fully completed within 3 years
