Following its destruction in the conflict against ISIS, the Mansour Bridge, which forms a vital artery for the city of Raqqa, has finally been rebuilt.
Since the liberation of Syria’s Raqqa Province, the city’s local council has been rehabilitating the infrastructure that was damaged during the conflict.
According to some estimates, during the liberation operations, over 37 bridges were destroyed, inhibiting civilians from travelling to the different sides of the city. The council’s latest project was the rehabilitation of al-Mansour Bridge, which was destroyed by the military operations against ISIS in 2017. The bridge, which connects the city’s centre to the rest of the province, is considered a main artery in the province. Until its recent rehabilitation, citizens would either travel far distances to cross over or use dangerous ferries that have resulted in the death of many people. According to the civil council, the bridge will be benefitting over 200,000 people a day.
“The permissible load of the bridge is about 4 tons in order not to damage the pillars,” said Ahmed al-Khidir, a member of the administrative committee in the Raqqa Civil Council. “The estimated cost amounted to about 197 million Syrian Liras or about 400,000 dollars.”
The civil council says that they received much of the funding for the 630-metre bridge from the International Coalition and international organisations and agencies.
Citizens say that they are delighted with the completion of the bridge because it allows them to cross over to many of the other provinces including Hasakah and Deir ez-Zour.
“I have not crossed this bridge for six years, I did not dare to cross the river by ferry and have not come to the town for six years,” said a citizen of Raqqa. “I came today and was surprised to see the bridge rehabilitated.”
The rehabilitation of the bridge is part of the broader initiatives by the Raqqa Civil Council to rehabilitate Raqqa, the de-facto capital of ISIS in Syria. While the city requires much more work because of the amount of damage that has been inflicted upon it, these attempts show that the residents and administrators of the province are dedicated to rebuilding the city so that life can return to normalcy.