Bridge finally built for Balinese kids forced to cross turbulent river every day to get to school after viral video

Students attending an elementary school in North Bali can soon finally walk to school without getting wet.

For the past 30 years, the SDN 5 Ringdikit student body, which is now about 40 kids, would have to tread through a river to access their school, making their way through about 30 meters of sometimes quite strong currents to get to class.

The community says they have been trying for years and years to get the Bali provincial government to install a bridge for the students’ crossing to no avail. Push came to shove, however, when video footage showing the kids struggling to make their way against tough currents went viral in Bali. 

An ‘emergency bridge’ was quickly erected, consisting of concrete blocks and just last month, the Bali Province Department of Public Works started building a little wooden suspension bridge with steel ropes. And good thing, because the ‘emergency bridge’ already broke. The new bridge is reportedly 1.25 meters wide and 30 meters long.

In the mean time, local police have apparently been stepping in to help kids across during this year’s intense rainy season.

“Work on the bridge started in the beginning of March with a budget of Rp 150 million and will be completed over two months. Now 90 percent of the work has already been finished,” project manager Wayan Sumindra told Merdeka on Sunday.

The new single-track bridge is designed for pedestrians and has the capacity for a maximum of 10 people at a time.

“You can cross with a motorbike, just do not go in two different directions and it’s safer one at a time,” Sumindra said.