Rebuilding Washed Out Bridges in Papua

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For the last 6ish months we have been driving over a washed out bridge.  Creatively, the road construction crew simply piled dirt and rocks upon the broken, twisted mass of concrete and thousands of cars and motorcycles pass over it daily.  At times sink holes have eroded out and treacherous falling in of “the repaired bridge road” have taken us down to single lane passing.  This is the only way for us living out in Doyo to get into town.  So for the Boyd taxi driver, she passes over this bridge usually at least 4 times a day.

When the big yellow excavator went to work last week on the bridge and the manual labor people were present, we were excited.  Now instead of passing over the packed down, eroding in, washed out bridge….we are driving over the coconut bridge (yes made from coconut trees)  or depending on the amount of traffic one may get directed to drive down and up through the river and mud.  The Boyd family has given up washing their car.  For every day the Kijang is getting a great douse of mud, muck or spray depending on the amount of rain.   At times the mud has been so slick or deep that the said female taxi driver has had to keep saying to herself, “Don’t stop, don’t stop, keep going, keep going.”  Internally she has been saying, “Jesus, please help me.  What am I going to do if I get stuck?  Why am I driving at this place alone at night?”  So far….mercy. 

Pictures say 1,000 words.  Though honestly in Papua……I think there are a 1,000 more words that need to be shared then just the pictures……they catch a lot but not the noise, smell, emotion, bouncing, tires spinning, tires falling off the plank way, motor cycles darting around you, people not taking turns, potholes, dirt, muck, the steepness, the narrowness, the rawness.  The taxi driver has just started to hang her camera out the window to capture the images she wants.

That new bridge sure will be nice. 

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Passing through the river.  This is much steeper then it looks on photo.

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The coconut bridge.

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The planks that are easy to fall off of.

 

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Note all the people on the motorbike and the spray coming from broken pipe, behind the motor bike.

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Free car wash provided, by high power broken water pipe for underside of muddy vehicles.

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In distance you can see the excavator working on new bridge.

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I love this boy!!!!

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