Following the hellish gridlock caused by the closure of the Independence Bridge for repairs in Lagos State, the Minister of Works, Engr Dave Umahi on Friday revealed that the repair work had been hastened for the bridge to be reopened tomorrow.
Umahi disclosed this on Friday while addressing journalists following the timely delivery of the bridge infrastructure by Buildwell and Hi-Tech engineering companies which jointly rehabilitated it immediately after the bridge closure.
He warned contractors, structural engineers and controller of works in the country to provide drone study reports to uncover the level of deterioration before shutting down bridges and national assets in the country.
He explained that the drone study feedback would notify the public on the bottlenecks involved to fix the infrastructure without conflicting with the masses.
The minister, however, commended Hi-Tech and Buildwell for directing swift actions to quicken the emergency repairs of the Independence Bridge, assuring that the structural integrity of the independence bridge had been restored following the intervention of the engineering companies who promptly distributed supplies and reinforcement to repair the bridge.
He said the bridge has been fully restored after working day and night to fix all the lapses adding that the bridge is now fit for commuters and motorists to ply tomorrow (Sunday) even as he said the work would require further assessment over the next two weeks before the installation of a permanent structure.
“We have restored the bridge to open up for motorist and vehicular activities and by Sunday, this place will be totally open,” Umahi stated.
According to the minister, the initial design of the Independence Bridge was flawed, and the approach lab was constructed as a cantilever, which led to its collapse.
To prevent similar incidents in the future, the minister promised to establish a standard procedure for road closures and bridge maintenance.
