2024 Bridges to Prosperity: Makurungwe Trail Bridge

Muraho (that’s "hello" in Kinyarwandan)!

Joining forces with Bridges to Prosperity for our 2024 Thornton Tomasetti Gives Back service project, Thornton Tomasetti’s team travelled to the East African country of Rwanda to construct the Makurungwe trail bridge over the Musogoro River, serving the 3,000+ members of the Makurungwe, Kabuga, Kavumu, Nyagahinga and Nkomangurwa communities.

The mission of Bridges to Prosperity is to connect isolated rural communities to markets, schools and healthcare facilities by providing a safe, year-round crossing over the obstacles that isolate them.

Our Team

About the Musogoro River

For local residents, the dangers of the Musogoro River are a constant reality. During periods of flooding, crossing becomes particularly hazardous and schools, markets and medical facilities become inaccessible. Regrettably, sometimes no alternative exists but to attempt the crossing, resulting in tragic fatalities.

The new suspended bridge was being constructed in Rwanda’s Karongi district, 114 kilometers (about 70 miles, or a three-hour drive) west of the capital city of Kigali. It provides citizens with safe, year-round access to social, educational, economic and healthcare opportunities.

Team Objectives

We arrived in Rwanda on June 15, 2024, and were on-site June 16 to 29. Our primary goal was to safely construct the Makurungwe trail bridge, a 64-meter-long cable-suspended bridge, over the Musogoro River.