EVENT DETAIL

In June 2023, the organization Bridges to Prosperity built a trailbridge in a remote village in Rwanda to provide safe pedestrian crossing over the Nyabarongo River. Since 2001, Bridges to Prosperity has built over 500 trailbridges in countries around the world, with the goal of eliminating poverty caused by rural isolation. For the Gihororo build in June 2023, Modjeski and Masters partnered with the National Steel Bridge Alliance to help with construction of a 120 meter suspension bridge. The Nyabarongo is a major river in Rwanda and a treacherous barrier to travel in the rainy season, limiting travel and access to commerce, school, and medical facilities for local community members. Now completed, the Gihororo Bridge serves approximately 1400 beneficiaries, connecting community members to lifechanging services. Bridges to Prosperity employed approximately 60 local community members to clear and prepare the site for the future bridge, as well as dig and build foundations and substructure. A group of 10 volunteers organized by the National Steel Bridge Alliance traveled to Rwanda to assist the local community to erect the bridge superstructure in two weeks. Once completed, the bridge was inaugurated and handed over to the local transportation authorities, with a number of community members designated as bridge maintenance personnel. This presentation will introduce the organization Bridges to Prosperity and how it plans and executes bridge projects. The presentation will also discuss bridge design details and how simple, readily available materials can be used for bridge building, as well as construction methods of bridge erecting without the use of heavy equipment.