KOTA KINABALU: Residents of a village in Kota Belud are appealing for a dilapidated, unstable wooden bridge there to be replaced with a safer concrete structure.
The villagers said the current bridge poses dangers to pedestrians and vehicles alike.
"Our pleas seem to have fallen on deaf ears," Kampung Lasau Tintapon village development and security committee chairman Hellary Lantokan said on Tuesday (Sept 22).
"In the past, there were fewer vehicles crossing, and the bridge could withstand the load.
"Now, with more cars coming in, and even small lorries that enter for construction and other works, the bridge can no longer handle it."
He said the bridge connects hundreds of households, a school, a community hall and a village cemetery to a dirt road leading to the main road towards Kota Belud town and other locations.
He added that some planks on the bridge have broken and nails are protruding, creating added risk.
Hellary recalled that when a fire broke out several years ago, firemen were unable to reach the area as the engine was too large to cross.
Heavy vehicles are also unable to get through, just smaller ones, but even those have to traverse the bridge with care.
Hellary said the district Public Works Department is in charge of maintaining the bridge but often takes a long time to respond.
"We need a new, proper concrete bridge," he stressed.
