A metal and concrete bridge over River Birim linking the Ashanti and Eastern Regions in the Birim Central Municipality could collapse any time soon if steps are not taken to rehabilitate it. The ancient structure is the first ever road and rail bridge built in West Africa in the early 1950s. It now bears a warning - ‘Weak Bridge’ - boldly displayed on either of its ends. Its condition has so deteriorated it is an imminent threat to life and property as users, with bated breadth, traverse its length daily across the river. The Ghana Highway Authority has erected two concrete pillars on each end to restrict heavy duty trucks from using the bridge, however, articulated and timber truck drivers have defied the measure and continue to squeeze their vehicles in between the pillars. A recent trip I undertook to the site left me bewildered. Residents of Akim Oda and Nkwanta say since its construction about 50 years ago, the bridge has seen no major rehabilitation works. The structure sits on solid concrete pillars and is supported overhead by a canopy of metal bars which put the entire bridge in a balance and support it across the river. Two metal pillars on the floor of the railway line in the middle of the bridge have been forced to give due to pressure, causing expansion of the bridge. Pedestrians have no protection as they compete with on-coming vehicles for space as a result of the protective metal guards have either broken or worn out. Timber trucks carrying logs frequently get stuck on the bridge, blocking traffic to other users sometimes for days. Some residents are worried the deplorable nature of the bridge impedes transportation of cocoa and other agricultural produce, besides the danger it poses to human lives. A taxi driver who was awaiting his turn on the bridge told me, "It is scary using the bridge". He blamed sawmill firms in the area for contributing to the deplorable nature of the bridge. "Timber trucks which supply logs to saw mills have been warned to stop using the bridge but they won’t listen," he claimed. Lawlessness on its highest level The trucks on several occasions get trapped on the bridge, blocking it entirely to traffic. Sometimes they remain stuck for two, three or more hours before they get recovery trucks to help them out. An official of AngloGold Ashanti, Mr. Mathew Yeboah Agyemang, also a driver, told me "it is not safe for pedestrians and drivers. Looking at it now, the hand–raise for pedestrians is not there...and the bridge has also been knock-down by logs of timber trucks." He wants the concrete pillars erected at the entrants of the bridge removed. "The pillars cause inconvenience because when you are behind it, you can’t see on-coming vehicles", he said. Motorists of light vehicles are even calling for the removal of the pillars meant to restrict heavy duty vehicles because according to them, the structures obstruct their view. Highway Authority officials however insist the pillars are there to serve a specific a purpose.