Four years after collapse, Navio bridge still claims lives

After four years of its collapse, the Navio bridge remains unfixed despite persistent pleas, demonstrations and press conferences by the Chief and people of the area over their plight.

So far, about eight persons have been killed while trying to cross the the river.

The broken bridge linked Manyoro and Navio in the Kassena-Nankana West District of the Upper East Region.

The steel bridge collapsed in March 2022. And as it remains unfixed, it continues to cut off thousands of residents from schools, farms, markets, health facilities and emergency services. Residents of the community including their chief, blame successive governments for neglecting their plight.

Isacc Adewoyi, a 14-year-old a pupil of Tazika/Bagtua Junior High School, told The Fourth Estate the collapsed bridge has turned his daily movements to and from school into a weather-depend gamble, with heavy rains often making the route impassible.

He said he and his colleagues are often forced to stay at home because the river becomes impossible to cross whenever the rains come.  

“You cannot cross when it rains because water will come all over the farmlands. Most people die here because of that, so we cannot cross,” he said.

The Assembly member for Navio, Roland Apugido, said “For the school pupils, anytime it rains, it is a week-long holiday for them because if this river gets full, it will take about five days before anyone can cross it. So, imagine it rains on Sunday; the following day, pupils will not go to school.”

Teachers, nurses and farmers, he adds, are equally unwilling to risk their lives by attempting to cross the river.

The bridge collapsed after an articulated DAF truck, reportedly carrying a heavy load suspected to be illegal rosewood from Burkina Faso, attempted to cross it on March 23, 2022. The structure caved in under the weight, leaving communities on both sides without a safe crossing.

Six months later after the bridge collapsed, the District Chief Executive of Kassena-Nankana West at the time, Gerald Ataogye, assured residents that steps were being taken through the Ministry of Highways to reconstruct the bridge. He said fabricated steel bridge components were  being imported from the United Kingdom for the reconstruction.

However, four years on, residents say the assurance has not translated into a functional bridge.

The Chief of Navio, Pe Adam Kwarasei II, says residents have repeatedly been told that work would begin, including claims that contractors were being mobilised, but the situation remains unchanged.

“We are still pleading to the new administration to help us because the two districts that this bridge is serving, Kassena-Nankana East and Kassena-Nankana West, cannot have access to this route.”

According to him, the consequences of crossing the river are dire in emergencies where minutes can determine whether someone lives or dies. 

He recounts the case of a pregnant woman who reportedly died while being transported to the War Memorial Hospital in Navrongo after her relatives were forced to take a longer route because they could not cross the river.

He also cites a recent robbery incident and a fire outbreak at Manyoro Market, where emergency responders reportedly could not cross the river.

“When the security agents came there, they couldn’t cross. There was a fire outbreak in Manyoro Market. When they got there, they couldn’t cross. They had to go back and take the Kandiga route. Before they got there, it was a disaster.”

The chief says the community is not asking for soo much.

“We don’t want any interchange. We don’t want anything. We just need a bridge for people to live their lives better.”

During his visit to the Upper East Region in August 2026, President John Mahama made a promise to fix the bridge.

“With regards to the Navio bridge, I can assure you that it’s going to be awarded on contract very soon. You will see a contractor on site, he promised.”

While this bridge remains unfixed, several fabricated bridge parts imported between 2021 and 2022 had been left unused in two yards belonging the Ghana Highways Authority. It took a recent report by The Fourth Estate to prompt the relocation of some of these components to other parts of the country for bridge construction.