CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE ADDER, Iraq – The leadership of 7th Engineer Battalion, inspected a bridge construction site on Route Arnhem in Maysan province Sept. 6. The bridge, located near the border of Dhi Qar and Maysan provinces, is near completion and will replace a temporary bridge built when the road was washed out several years ago.
Engineers have been working in phases for the past five to six weeks to complete the new bridge before the old bridge is dismantled. By building the new bridge, the 7th Eng. Bn. can pull the old bridge safely while minimizing disruptions to normal traffic flow.
“When the bridge comes out, there wouldn’t be anything in place to keep the road open, so we built a bypass around the washed out site,” said Lt. Col. Chris Barron, commander, 7th Eng. Bn.
The commander, command sergeant major and the technical engineers of 7th Eng. Bn. traveled to the site to check on the final stages of construction. The engineers toured the site to examine materials and construction methods and to determine if the bridge was built according to plan, if it will last the intended lifespan and its strength in handling traffic.
“We’re going over there to check it out; make sure it’s safe; make sure the road will be open and available for traffic and it will be durable for the residents of Dhi Qar and Maysan provinces,” said Barron, a Goshen, N.Y., native. “Once that’s done, then we’ll give the go-ahead to pull that military bridge.”
The bypass will allow Route Arnhem to remain open as a main route to Contingency Operating Site Garyowen and a conduit for a large part of southern Iraq; starting at Amara, it cuts across Maysan province and into Dhi Qar, into Karbala then north to Baghdad.
“There’s a lot of traffic out there,” said Barron. “We want to maintain the average Iraqi’s ability to move west from Amara without having to take a huge three-hour bypass or take dirt roads.”
Most of the work on the bridge is done at night when there is less heat and less traffic. During the day, the Soldiers live out of tents near the construction site. Two Iraqis, who operate the excavators and buckets, work with the Soldiers.
“They were excited to get on the machines, get on that equipment,” said Waybrant, a Grand Rapids, Mich., native.
When American forces leave, the bridge will be turned over to Iraqi oversight and the bridge will allow the river of commerce for the people of Iraq to flow unabated from Amara to Baghdad.
