Lagos State government has reopened the Ojota and Maryland sections of the Odo Iya Alaro Bridge and read the riot act to those stealing manhole covers in the state.
The state’s deputy governor, Dr Obafemi Hamzat, stated this at the official reopening of the newly rehabilitated bridge to traffic yesterday. He warned the manhole cover thieves to desist from such acts or face the wrath of the law.
To curb the menace, he said the state resorted to using fibres instead of steel to fabricate manhole covers, and anyone caught stealing them would be prosecuted.
Hamzat said, ‘’Everybody says infrastructure maintenance is a challenge, but we say it is not in Lagos. This informed our decision to maintain this infrastructure and put it in good shape. The expansion joints, which are necessary accessories for bridges, are now repaired and in good shape, and all the stolen manholes have been replaced.
‘’But it is important for me to say that these new manhole covers are fibres, not metals. So if you take it, it is useless. But the manhole covers protect people. It is to protect human beings so that they don’t fall off bridges; this is a safety issue. It is no longer steel. It is fibre, it is difficult to remove, but if you able to remove it, it’s useless to you, it is not glass, not metal, and if we catch you, we prosecute you.’’
He said the administration focused on road and bridge infrastructure to reduce travel time, save critical man-hours that would have been otherwise lost to traffic, boost interconnectivity, provide better riding surfaces, eliminate traffic gridlocks, and make life more meaningful for commuters in Lagos State.
The deputy governor added that the current administration prioritizes people’s safety, saying many pedestrian bridges have also been identified for routine maintenance.
Hamzat noted that the wilful abuse and pilfering of road infrastructure furniture has re-enacted the need for zero tolerance for a recurrent spate of misuse of roads and bridges across the state.
The Special Adviser, Office of Infrastructure Engineer Olufemi Daramola, said the bridge, which had been closed to traffic for months, was completed and re-opened to traffic ahead of schedule because the government was eager to alleviate the suffering of road users.
It would be recalled that work started on the Ojota-bound side of the Bridge on 22nd July 2024 and finished on 23rd August 2024. Work commenced on the second phase, the Maryland-bound section, on the 23rd of August 2024 and finished on the 13th of September 2024, fifty-four days after commencement.
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