The Third Mainland Bridge in Lagos will be closed on Friday following the directives of the Nigeria Government so as to commence rehabilitation of the bridge.
The scheduled rehabilitation on the Third Mainland Bridge will last for six months starting 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 to failing and damaged portions, adding that the government cannot afford to rebuild the bridge if allowed to collapse.
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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 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.
Lagos fixes alternative routes ahead Third Mainland Bridge closure
The Lagos State Government has confirmed that the palliative works on the alternative routes highlighted for traffic management during the proposed 3rd Mainland Bridge rehabilitation, are rounding up in readiness for the partial closure scheduled to commence Friday, 24th July, 2020.
According to a Statement from the Lagos State Ministry of Transportation, the six months repair works to be embarked on by the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing is targeted at fixing the worn out expansion joints on the structure of the bridge.
The Commissioner for Transportation, Dr. Frederic Oladeinde, while responding to questions raised concerning some failed sections of the alternative routes confirmed that Iddo inwards Carter Bridge, Market road inward Herbert Macaulay road, Herbert Macaulay road by Abeokuta street, Herbert Macaulay by Cemetery and Apapa inward Oyingbo have all been fixed.
Oladeinde further explained that the first phase of the bridge rehabilitation would focus on Oworonshoki inward Lagos Island in the morning with traffic diversion from 12.00 midnight to 1.00pm while the Lagos Island inward Oworonshoki will divert traffic in the afternoon from 1.00pm to 12.00 midnight.
The Commissioner while notifying that different options have been provided for motorists to navigate their journeys, he advised motorists heading towards Ikeja and Ikorodu road from Osborne Road, Ikoyi in the morning to make use of Carter Bridge to access Eko Bridge through Ijora Olopa which will lead them through Funsho Williams Avenue to Doman Long Bridge to Ikorodu, or use Carter Bridge to Iddo through Oyingbo to Herbert Macaulay to Jibowu and link Ikorodu Road.
