The Niger Bridge
One of the most popular bridges in Nigeria is the Niger Bridge which is more popularly referred to as the Onitsha Bridge.
The Niger Bridge is considered to be of Nigeria’s most economically crucial bridges. It was constructed between 1964 and 1965, and commissioned in December 1965.
The Bridge links the South-Western and the South-Southern region of the country to the South-East. This is because one end leads to Asaba, Delta State and the other to Onitsha, Anambra state. People traveling to Asaba from Onitsha will travel on the bridge and vice versa.
Now, have you ever wondered how people journeyed between Asaba and Onitsha prior to the construction of the famous Onitsha Bridge in 1966? How were people traveling to the East?
Well, in the early 1960s, people traveling across the river Niger to the eastern part of Nigeria achieved their aim through the aid of river ferries of various sizes.
Below are photographs of showing travelers at the jetties and landing points at Asaba end of the river in 1961.
Asaba Ferry Landing (March 1961)
A private enterprise river ferry stopped at the main Asaba passenger-landing dock in 1966. Photo Credit: Laurens Dawes
The Asaba riverbank and ferry in 1960.
A view taken just off the Niger River banks looking backward along the eastern front of 1960s Asaba,
photographed from aboard a Ferry headed southeastward toward Onitsha.
Asaba-Onitsha- Ferry Crossing (1959)