The 2006 Building Bridges expedition aimed to construct a suspended footbridge across the North Rukuru River near Uledi, on the north鈥憌estern edge of Malawi’s Nyika National Park. The bridge was intended to restore year鈥憆ound access between communities, enable anti鈥憄oaching patrols during the rainy season, and support scientific research teams whose work was restricted by seasonal flooding.
The five鈥憄erson student team worked in collaboration with National Park staff and local chiefs. After initial delays the team secured government approval and began surveying the river. Early assumptions proved inaccurate: the chosen span was 37鈥痬 rather than the expected 25–30鈥痬, and flood levels were significantly higher. This required a major redesign, including taller towers, doubled reinforced鈥慶oncrete anchor blocks, altered cable connections, and narrower decking to reduce load.
Construction relied entirely on manual labour. Forty鈥慺ive local workers contributed roughly 4,800 labour鈥慼ours, sourcing sand, gravel, and boulders from the riverbed and transporting over 6,000 bricks to the site by hand. Two 4.4鈥憁etre masonry鈥慳nd鈥慶oncrete towers were built, along with two large reinforced鈥慶oncrete anchors. Timber decking modules were prefabricated from termite鈥憆esistant blue鈥慻um wood. All materials had to be carried from the nearest road or, for cement and steel, transported via multi鈥慸ay truck journeys from Mzuzu.
Despite significant progress, the bridge could not be completed because the shipment of steel cables from Europe was delayed for weeks due to administrative errors and airline cargo prioritisation. Before departure, the team secured the site, stored materials, and established maintenance instructions for the community. A follow鈥憉p expedition was planned for 2007 to install the cables, complete decking assembly, and finalise embankment protection works.