Imagining The beauty and story of KILIFI and its Bridge:A piece from KNOB Digital

Imagining The beauty and story of KILIFI and its Bridge:A piece from KNOB Digital

Kenya’s Coast Province contains the coastal town of Kilifi, which is situated about 30 kilometers south of Nairobi, the nation’s capital. Kilifi is also well-known for its extensive dune system and beaches, which have contributed to its rise to popularity as an East African travel destination. Thousands of tourists visit it each year, drawn by its natural beauty, to learn about its culture, view its well-known sites, shop at its markets, or just relax on one of its stunning beaches.

So why Kilifi, The reason behind the name Kilifi is because of the many cliffs that exist, During colonial times, when different words were being initiated and named, the natives had a problem with the pronunciation of cliffs, so they rebranded Kilifi, and that is how the name came to be… A Cliff ,  according to geography and geology, is an area of rock that has a general angle defined by the vertical, or nearly vertical. Cliffs are formed by the processes of weathering and erosion with the effect of gravity, and they are mostly common on coasts, in mountainous areas, on escarpments, and along rivers.

Welcome to KNOB Digital for digital marketing services Kilifi. We are a team of professionals dedicated to crafting digital experiences and providing marketing support. We are the top digital marketers in Kilifi, Kenya Coast, Mombasa, and we believe in helping different businesses achieve sales through digital marketing. Our services revolve around production consumption and visibility, but that’s not all. Under visibility, we are keen on helping your brand grow on publicity, we do this through: photos and videos, graphics and creatives, prints and publications, voice-over and film, social media and campaigns, and more…Allow us to tell you more about Kilifi.

Kilifi is composed of seven constituencies: Ganze Constituency,_established for the 1988 elections. After the IEBC adopted the Boundary Commission’s recommendation for new constituencies and boundaries_. Kaloleni Constituency, Kilifi North Constituency_which is the administrative headquarters for Kilifi county and home to the only university in the county, Pwani University, and has a population of 178,824 people according to the 2019 census report._. Kilifi South Constituency, Magarini Constituency

Malindi Constituency and Rabai Constituency

 

Why visit Kilifi town

To better understand why we chose Kilifi, we will discuss more about the history of the great Kilifi Bridge.

The Kilifi Bridge

A bridge is a construction that carries a roadway over an obstruction, like a river, to carry a road or footpath. In other words, a bridge is a building intended to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without impeding the passage underneath. It is built to provide passage over the obstruction, which is typically something that would be difficult or impossible to cross otherwise. Bridges hold a unique position in Kenya’s transportation system because of their close connections to other locations. These buildings are meant to support the traffic loads on the highway, navigate any obstacles, and facilitate efficient communication between two locations. There are now six fundamental bridge forms, which include, the beam, the truss, The arch, The suspension, The cantilever, and The cable-stay.In Kenya, the Athi River Bridge is the longest bridge in Kenya (SGR) while the Nairobi National Park Super Major Bridge takes the second position as Kenya’s longest bridge.

With a reference from NTV, National TV Station, which is an entertainment channel under the National Media Group.

Here is what we found out from the NTV Documentary on the bridge construction process, The Kilifi Bridge links Mnarani in the south and Kilifi town in the north. At the time of construction in 1990, it was the longest bridge in Kenya at 420 meters. Today,  it will take you about 20 seconds to cross in a vehicle at a moderate speed. Walking will take you about five minutes, and you can even cycle across. As compared to 31 years ago, anything under 15 minutes was a record time. Most of the major towns along the Kenyan north coast are found along this highway, which runs from Mombasa to Garissa. The construction of Kilifi Bridge was completed in 1991.  

Let’s take you back, During the first visit by the British, they found Kilifi Creek, and they needed to build a bridge. In those days, traffic was very light, and means of traveling were probably walking,  so they brought these bridges that could be pulled using ropes.  Quora possed a discussion on this, “If the canyon walls are unstable, you can just put the anchors some distance away. If you fasten the rope to trees, and they move a bit in high winds, rope will flex rather than breaking.” that is to say sure ing that time, where trees were more as compared to building, construction process was not effective, the rope bridge would have worked, however till now we can not include on its impact.

As the years went on, the traffic increased and more bridges were brought in. In the late 1960s, bigger bridges were added that could carry even more vehicles. It was during a tornado, that invention started coming, given the fact that Kenya got independence in 1964, the probability of having vehicles, and the shifting of goods especially from the Mombasa port, In the late 1970s, the traffic was again getting out of hand, and the government commissioned two ferries to be built. During the time of  President Kenyatta, counties were not set up with leaders to better understand the need, however with great precision, the ferries were launched on January 17, 1978. These were modern vessels and would break the speed records by crossing the half-kilometer channel in 10 minutes. They were the best of that time, As the two ferries would crisscross the half-kilometer channel at a record time of 10 minutes, the ramp became a major commercial center as traders would sell to motorists and passengers waiting to board the ferries in the 80s. However, as the number of travelers kept growing, so did the need to keep shifting, and the old ferries could not keep up. Having frequent breakdowns was just the beginning what followed was travelers who got stuck for hours waiting for one ferry. Driving around the creek was not a good option either, as the ocean extends quite a distance inland. Besides, the roads were in worse shape. While some people saw a problem, others saw an opportunity. The local fishermen would use their small boats to ferry impatient passengers for a fee.

So who built the Kilifi Bridge,

(Daniel Arap Moi, https://www.the-star.co.ke/counties/coast/2020-02-04-moi-remembered-for-iconic-projects-in-coast/

According to Kenya Engineers, 

Designs of bridges vary depending on the function of the bridge, the nature of the terrain where the bridge is constructed, the material used to make it, and the funds available to build it. The history of Bridges in Kenya stretches before the colonial times when the indigenous community would use tree logs and rock boulders or rock fill across ‘unfriendly’ sections of the footpath. In coastal areas due to the wide crossing waterways, a system of floating bridges was used. An example is the Nyali Bridge which was a floating pontoon bridge linking Mombasa Island to the Kenyan mainland.