Minister of works, Engr David Umahi, has promised that the ongoing rehabilitation of the Third Mainland Bridge will be completed before the end of April.
The minister gave the assurance after a joint assessment tour of the bridge and two others in the company of the minister of finance and coordinating minister of the economy, Wale Edun.
Umahi said, ‘’Excellent and beautiful work has been done on the Third Mainland Bridge. The federal controller of works in Lagos has been up and doing. We have been getting a lot of accolades from Lagosians, I am very hopeful and happy on what will be the result of the bridge and we assure them that before the end of April , they will start using their bridges again.’’
Motorists plying the ever-busy bridge had lamented the state of the bridge, with long stretches of the 11.8-kilometre road riddled with crater-sized potholes, thereby compelling the federal government to close it on January 9, 2024, for rehabilitation.
According to him, “Some of the defective elements are going to be fixed. But there’s nothing to worry about. We are going to reinstate those defective slabs with the new design.”
The minister blamed the dilapidated state on the lack of serious maintenance years after the bridge was constructed, saying “Over the years, after the construction of the bridge, there was no serious maintenance. So, we are working on the problems with the bridges.
“Some comprehensive works would be done, especially in the area of provision of street lights on and under the bridge and the installation of Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) and the bridge would be opened to road users very soon.”
On the state of the Lagos shoreline, the minister said the shore protection on the Marina needs urgent attention, noting that the Lagos railway project, the Blue Line, might be threatened if nothing is done to address the matter.
Umahi said the rehabilitation must be carried out on the shorelines, noting that the impact created by the current of water under the bridges and on the shoreline needed intervention.
