By Spc. Creighton Holub
4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division Public Affairs Office
CONTINGENCY OPERATIONS BASE ADDER, Iraq – Local and military leaders in the Dhi Qar province opened the Shat al Khayr Bridge to civilian traffic during a ceremony near the city of al Batha Sept. 13, 2008.
Dhi Qar Governor Aziz Kadum Alwan Al Ogheli, Long Knife Brigade Commander Col. Philip Battaglia and Lt. Col. Vasile Vreme, the commander of the Romanian Army's 341st Infantry Battalion, directed the Romanian and Iraqi security forces to open the bridge to civilian automobile traffic in a small ceremony.
"Today we opened this bridge, and it's very important for the Dhi Qar province," Ogheli explained. "This bridge will connect the southern sector to the center of Iraq."
The bridge is open for civilian traffic from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. The Shat al Khayr Bridge has the widest road for traffic to cross though there are other bridges that civilians have used to cross the Euphrates River in the area, but.
The governor also stated the 1st Cavalry Division's 4th Brigade Combat Team was a key element in reopening the river bridge.