New Mombasa 105 East
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New Mombasa 105 East, abbreviated to NM 105 E, was a large highway that passed through the city of Mombasa, Kenya on Earth. It passed through Old Mombasa and ended in New Mombasa's city center, and was a significant conduit of civilian traffic.
Background
It ran through a subterranean tunnel beneath Liberty Street of Old Mombasa before rising and connecting to New Mombasa via a bridge. This was the main entrance to the city from the south, and traveling further down the highway would take one straight through Sector B and through the industrial area to the city center. The highway featured numerous blast doors that would shut in case of emergencies such as a collapse of the bridge, or, in this case, the Covenant.[1]
During the Battle of Mombasa in 2552, the highway was heavily damaged during intense fighting between UNSC Marines and Covenant forces. Sections of the tunnels collapsed due to Covenant bombardment, and the Highway's emergency doors were activated. Covenant forces used the highway's bridge to regroup when Liberty Street was retaken by the Marines. A Scarab also followed the highway into Sector B, until it passed over several buildings and to the Docks.[2]
The underground highway is separated into several sections. During the Battle of Earth, John-117 passed through the C2, C3, and C4 sections of the highway on the west side of the bridge, on the mainland.[3]
Bridge
Its most spectacular feature in the Mombasa district was a special cantilever cable-stayed bridge stretching over Kilindini channel that is located West of Mombasa island. It is one of few bridges connecting New Mombasa to the mainland, through Old Mombasa. When Mombasa reached its zenith in economic status, the city decided to design a bridge that would prove their ingenuity to the world. The cantilever bridge has already existed for some time, but this bridge used the concept in a whole new way. Some features of this bridge are, it uses two spars, the deck is arced and extra-dosed, the cable connectivity is the harp-arrangement. By the 26th century, the bridge has become a relic of old times gone by.
The bridge has 44 main cables, which all go down to the center of the bridge. There is a toll booth at each end of the bridge, possibly hinting that it cost money to cross the bridge. On a scaled map, the Mombasa suspension bridge is actually 1.09 Km long, making it almost the length of a Halcyon-class cruiser.
Tunnel system
Because of lack of space to erect new buildings, it was decided to reclaim the land occupied by the highway. This was done by enclosing the highway completely within a type of overland tunnel, this allowed for the construction of numerous buildings on top of the tunnel. This gives the illusion from most perspectives that the highway is subterranean, but it is entirely above ground, although not everywhere above sea level. It featured in most parts, a four-lane highway constructed of prefabricated sections made of polycrete. Tunnels such as this were seen on both ends of the bridge. The tunnel on the New Mombasa side, Mtangwe Underpass, passed under the Kilindini district, connecting to other streets such as Moi Avenue and Shimanzi Road in the city's industrial area.[4]
Emergency measures
The NM 105 E featured a large number of heavy, impregnable gates and several periodic interchange gates, that can be closed off by the Superintendent in the case of emergency for example, ceiling collapse, fire, flooding, etc. Typically, there is a raised side strip to one side of each section that allowed for passage un-interfered with traffic in the main lanes. The bridge deck has a similar structure to the enclosed sections of NM 105 E but with slight additions, like built-in road blocks that are remotely activated, again, by the Superintendent.
History
During the Battle of Earth, the Covenant attacked NM 105 E, and indiscriminately destroyed a large number of civilian transports and vehicles, including cars, trucks, and buses, holding the critical highway as a major choke point against attacking forces and a major conduit of transportation to assist their occupation efforts of Mombasa. The Covenant positioned over a dozen Ghost assault vehicles, four Banshees, and three Wraiths, several Shielded Plasma Cannons, along with a large number of infantry, including Elites, Drones, Jackals, and Grunts, to hold the NM 105 E.
There was a UNSC effort to rally scattered defenders across the city and retake it, with a major objective of launching an assault on the city center and boarding the Covenant assault carrier there in an attempt to capture or kill the Prophet of Regret, a major Covenant religious leader. John-117, who was spearheading the attempt, was forced to assault the NM 105 E to reach the city center, and almost singlehandedly retook the highway, with occasional Marine reinforcements arriving from side entrances in Warthogs. NM 105 E took a considerable amount of structural damage that caused debris to litter the driving surface. As a result of this, high-speed vehicles that crossed their path during the assault would inadvertently run over the debris and occasionally be propelled several meters into the air.
In the middle of his attack, the Covenant attempted to regroup, reinforcing their positions with several Shadow transports, but were ultimately unsuccessful. Meanwhile, a Covenant Scarab walker tore a path from Old Mombasa to New Mombasa above NM 105 E, stepping over it, and decimating a Marine platoon that was sent to destroy it. John-117 was eventually able to retake the Old Mombasa segment on NM 105 E, despite significant Covenant resistance and ambushes. Upon reaching the bridge that bridged the two segments of NM 105 E, he re-joined the sole survivors of the entire Marine platoon, and was reinforced by a M808B Scorpion Tank that was air-dropped by a Pelican Dropship under the command of Sergeant Major Avery J. Johnson.
Later, Covenant air forces in the forms of Banshees and Phantoms attempted to impede John-117's advance, but nevertheless, together with the two surviving members of the former Marine platoon, John-117 was able to liberate two Marines pinned down by Covenant vehicles in the center of the NM 105 E's bridge, and later in the short New Mombasa segment of the NM 105 E, John-117 was again reinforced by a Marine Warthog with a pair of Marines, and shortly afterwards, the last vestiges of Covenant resistance on NM 105 E collapsed, and the UNSC was given a direct shot for New Mombasa's city center.
Trivia
- On both ends of the highway bridge, "SV.2326" can be seen painted on the walls. This is referring to the year of construction of the NM 105 E.
Sources
- ^ Halo 2, campaign level Outskirts
- ^ Halo 2, campaign level Metropolis
- ^ Halo 2, campaign level Outskirts
- ^ Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe, "Palace Hotel"
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