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New Bridge Reconnects a Community
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Photo: CHF International/Madalina Constantin
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Villagers gather at both ends of the new bridge in Matca village during its official inauguration. Half of the village had been cut off when the flooding Corozel River washed away the only bridge connecting them to the rest of the county.
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When the worst flooding in Romania’s living memory completely destroyed the bridge across the Corozel River, more than 300 people in Matca village were trapped — unable to reach jobs, schools, friends, or anything else outside their small community.
Matca is located in Romania’s eastern Galati County, an area severely affected by the 2005 floods. The river washed away the bridge, and those living on one side if it were stuck — they could no longer reach the rest of the village, much less travel to other areas of the country. In desperation, some of the trapped villagers built an improvised wooden footbridge, which was neither safe nor reliable. They knew that, in order to return to normalcy and productivity, they would need to build a new, stronger, and safer bridge.
USAID launched a flood recovery program and identified building this bridge as one of its major tasks. After only three months of work, the new bridge was ready. Fourteen meters long and 3.5 meters wide, the steel and concrete bridge spanning the Corozel River is now sturdy enough to handle cars.
“When the bridge was destroyed, we had no hope of rebuilding it.... The two halves of our community are one again with this bridge,” said Mayor Ionel Pohrib.
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