Over 200 vehicles that were stranded near Tonj Bridge in Tonj town for more than 3 weeks after flash floods washed away sections of the road have since moved after repair works on the road were completed.
Tonj County Executive Director Marko Mabior Ajec told Radio Tamazuj that the vehicles were stranded for about a month between Cueibet and Tonj.
He said the Warrap State government hired Ayat and Rhino Construction Companies to carry out emergency road works to restore traffic flow.
“Water washed away the road between Makuei and Tonj Bridge, a distance of one kilometer is where the water cut the road three times. One area was 5 meters, 7 meters, and 4 meters,” Ajec said. “The measures taken when it first started was to put some rocks in the potholes but after a week the water continued to rise, so we appealed to the governor to bring a company and he responded and brought for us Ayat company and Rhino construction company.”
Some of the drivers who were stranded for over three weeks thanked the governor for the road repairs.
Dut Aleu, a driver who was stranded for eight days called on the government to monitor the roads and repair them before they get completely damaged.
“The government is supposed to monitor the roads from time to time, especially in the areas that are known to be bad like in Lakes State and here in Tonj. These are the states where the roads are full of water so that measures are taken before the whole road is damaged. There is a need for some measures taken in advance before it is completely bad,” Aleu said.
Another driver, Dut Malou, appealed to the government to prioritize the road because it is the lifeline for many people.
Gogrial road has already been washed away by flash floods and it is a matter of time before vehicles going to Twic, Abyei, Ruweng, and Unity state are blocked.
Another road connecting Kuajok to Gogrial East and Tonj North counties is also damaged and it is not usable by heavy trucks.