It has not taken long for the bridge, located in Desa Cijunti, Campaka subdistrict, to benefit the people of both regencies as it has improved people’s mobility and access to the local economy.

Rudi, 26, who lives in Pabuaran Subang, for example, has already felt the benefits of the bridge. He has to travel to his place of work, an industrial estate in Purwakarta. Before the Cihambulu Bridge was constructed, he had to take a long route via the northern coastal (Pantura) road then to Cikopo Purwakarta.

"Previously, I had to take the long way around; now it is much quicker," he said when asked at the Cihambulu Bridge recently.

For years, he said, when he visited relatives in Desa Cimahi, Campaka, Purwakarta, he had to cross the traditional "Mak Uwo" bamboo bridge over the Cilamaya River. The bamboo bridge is 100 meters long and 2 meters wide.

"We had to cross the bamboo bridge whenever we visited relatives. It was dangerous and scary because the river below has a very strong current,” he recalled.

The new concrete and steel bridge cost Rp11 billion to construct, which was paid for with funds from the Purwakart regional budget. The Cihambulu Bridge is 100 meters long and 9 meters wide.

Meanwhile, the Desa Cijunti village head, Toha, expressed hope that the Cihambulu Bridge would improve people's access to economic activities in the two regions, Subang and Purwakarta.

"Of course, we hope that the economic condition of the people on both sides of the bridge, in Subang and in Purwakarta, will improve,” he said.

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