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4 unusual facts about Luangwa Bridge


Luangwa Bridge

The bridge approaches have to contend with steep rugged slopes and deep ravines covered in forest or thick bush; the area is remote and about 250 km from the nearest city, Lusaka.

Its proximity to Mozambique (about 2 km) and Rhodesia (60 km), as well as its status as the only access point within the country for Zambia's Eastern Province, makes it strategically vulnerable in any conflict.

The First Luangwa Bridge was built in Zambia's colonial era in 1932 as a narrow 300 m long wide steel and reinforced concrete deck on concrete piers and columns, financed, like the Chirundu Bridge and Beit Bridge by the Beit Trust.

Luangwa River

The lower Luangwa Valley is crossed by just one road, the Great East Road at the Luangwa Bridge, about 10 km south of the Luangwa-Lunsemfwa confluence.



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