Martyrs Bridge (Bamako)

Martyrs Bridge (Bamako)
Looking North over the Niger River, BCEAO Tower in the background and the Martyrs Bridge in the foreground.

The Martyrs Bridge (Pont des martyrs) of Bamako Mali connects the older sections of the Malian capital to its broad suburbs on the south shore of the Niger River. One of two road bridges across the Niger at Bamako, it is also known as the "Old Bridge". Opened in 1957 when Mali was under French Colonial rule it was renamed the Martyrs Bridge after independence in 1961. Martyrs Bridge connects two of the main avenues of the city. Avenue Fluve (also known as Avenue Modibo Keita), a broad boulevard enclosing the Square Lamumba which runs north towards the Presidential palace. From the south of the bridge runs Avenue de l'Unite Africain, the major route from the city centre south to Bamako-Senou Airport.

Other crossings

In 1982 a second road bridge, the King Fahd Bridge, was opened just 500 meters upstream. Both bridges connect the central city neighborhood of Commune III with Badalabougou.

Prior to the 1950s, the only crossing of the Niger at Bamako was at the Stroba Causeway, 8 kilometers downstream from the city, which is a low water crossing of cut stone at the location of a natural rapids. The Airgrettes Dam, 200 kilometers upstream, is a hydroelectric station and the next all season crossing to the west. The next all season crossing downstream is at the Markala Dam, over 200 kilometers east northeast past Segou, which until recently relied on ferry transport to cross one arm of the Niger. The next road bridge to cross the Niger river downstream of Markala is at Gao, Mali. A Chinese funded third road bridge, downstream on the east end of Bamako, is in the planning stage.[1]

References

  • Pascal James Imperato. Historical Dictionary of Mali. Scarecrow Press/ Metuchen. NJ - London (1986) ISBN 0810813696
  • Velton, Ross. Mali: The Bradt Travel Guide. Guilford, Connecticut: Globe Pequot Press, 2000. pp. 101–122

Coordinates: 12°37′49″N 7°59′31″W / 12.63028°N 7.99194°W / 12.63028; -7.99194


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • King Fahd Bridge (Bamako) — The King Fahd Bridge (Pont roi fahd) of Bamako Mali connects the older sections of the Malian capitol to its broad suburbs on the south shore of the Niger River. One of two road bridges across the Niger at Bamako, it is also known as the New… …   Wikipedia

  • Bamako — Infobox Settlement official name = Bamako, Mali other name = native name = nickname = settlement type = motto = imagesize = 250px image caption = View of Bamako flag size = image seal size = image shield = shield size = city logo = citylogo size …   Wikipedia

  • Niger River — Quorra redirects here. For the Tron: Legacy character, see Quorra. This article is about the river. For the play or movie, see The River Niger. Niger River (Joliba …   Wikipedia

  • Niamey — Niamey …   Wikipedia

  • Onitsha — For the novel, see Onitsha (novel). Onitsha Ọnịcha Mmili   City   Top: Onitsha landscape. Middle: River Niger Bridge head …   Wikipedia

  • Mopti —   Commune and town   Mopti Market …   Wikipedia

  • National Park of Upper Niger — The National Park of Upper Niger is a recently gazetted national park in Guinea in northwestern Africa. The park covers around 6000 square km of in the north eastern area of the country, of which 600 square km comprise the core area. The park… …   Wikipedia

  • Niger Delta — Not to be confused with Inner Niger Delta. The Niger Delta, the delta of the Niger River in Nigeria, is a densely populated region sometimes called the Oil Rivers because it was once a major producer of palm oil. The area was the British Oil… …   Wikipedia

  • Nun River — The Nun River is a river in Nigeria. The Nun is formed when the Niger River splits in two, forming the Nun and Forcados rivers. The Nun River is immortalised in the poetry of Gabriel Okara. His poem The Call of the River Nun is a nostalgic ode to …   Wikipedia

  • Markala —   Commune and town   The dam of Markala …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”