The Old Bridge, Makurdi is a combined rail and road bridge over the

Benue River Benue River (), previously known as the Chadda River or Tchadda, is a major tributary of the Niger River. The size of its catchment basin is 319,000 km2 (123,000 sq mi). Almost its entire length of Approximation, approximately is navigable dur ...

Makurdi Makurdi is the capital of Benue State, located in central Nigeria, and part of the Middle Belt region of central Nigeria. The city is situated along the Benue River. In 2017, Makurdi's urban population was 517,342. The town is divided by the Ri ...

, Nigeria. The structure was completed in 1932.

Construction

Construction of the bridge started in 1928, and it was opened by Donald Cemeron on 24 May 1932 to coincide with the celebration of

Empire Day Commonwealth Day is the annual celebration of the Commonwealth of Nations, held on the second Monday in March. While the date holds some official status in select Member states of the Commonwealth of Nations, member states of the Commonwealth ...

. The span of the bridge is about half a mile, and the distance between abutments is . The bridge was built to replace the Nigerian railway's ferry service that conveyed passengers across the Benue at Makurdi. The cost of the bridge was about £1,000,000, and it was constructed by Sir William Arrol & Co. At the time of its construction, it was one of the largest undertakings by the British in Africa and the longest bridge in Africa. The track spacing is 3 ft 6 in gauge. The site was chosen because of the narrowness of the river and the elevation of the land above the river (about ) at this point.

References

Bridges in Nigeria {{Nigeria-bridge-struct-stub