The Federal Government on Tuesday announced the partial closure of the Third Mainland Bridge in Lagos State for scheduled rehabilitation work that will last from July, 2020 to January, 2021.
The Bridge, considered the busiest in the country with a total traffic of 132, 702 vehicles per day will be formally closed to road users by midnight, Friday July 24.
Works and Housing Minister, Babatunde Fashola, while briefing journalists in Abuja on the proposed maintenance of the Bridge, said that maintenance work will be carried out on a length of 3.5 kilometer out of the 11.8 kilometer bridge.
According to him, the rehabilitation of the bridge became imperative because of failing and damaged portions, adding that the government cannot afford to rebuild the bridge if allowed to collapse.
He said that the Third Mainland Bridge which links the Lagos Island with the Lagos Mainland was among the bridges designated for maintenance after a comprehensive assessment of the 37 bridges across the country.
Fashola, while appreciating the hardship the closure of the bridge will bring on Nigerians, noted that there was no other way to carry out the maintenance work, adding that, “The construction of the Bridge spanned three decades and we cannot afford to rebuild it if we allow it to totally collapse. Infrastructure must be maintained. After the work is done, we will have a better driving experience on the Bridge.”
The Minister also disclosed that a sum of N277 billion will be needed to rehabilitate all the 37 Bridges across the country.
Earlier, the Director Highway Bridges and Design, Engineer Emmanuel Adeoye, said that the maintenance work to be done on the Bridge include the replacement of damaged bars, hydro-demolition of all non-firm parts and lifting of two of the Bridge Spans.
Others are anti-rust treatment of exposed bars, replacement of 14 damaged expansion joints and other auxiliary works that may be directed by the Engineers.
He said that alternative routes have been provided to divert traffic from the Bridge during the six-month maintenance period.
The Corps Marshal, Federal Road Safety Corps, Boboye Oyeyemi, said that a total of 250 Personnel have been deployed to guide and administer road traffic within the period of the maintenance work to ensure free flow of traffic.
