The Federal Government will close one full carriageway of the Eko Bridge in Lagos State for urgent repairs.
The Minister of Works, Senator Dave Umahi, made this known on Wednesday in Lagos during the site handover of the Carter Bridge to China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC).
“By midnight on Sunday, that full carriageway must be closed while the other carriageway remains open.
“I am directing the Director of Bridges and the Controller of Works in Lagos to liaise with the Lagos State Government, mount a public awareness campaign, and identify alternative routes,” Umahi said.
“We will not allow people to endanger their lives. We are a responsible administration, and this is a problem we inherited. The best solution is to lift the entire affected span.”
According to him, the pier and pier cap will be exposed for repairs.
“The solutions are as follows: On the affected section, we will carry out additional piling around the pier cap, cast a new pier cap, strengthen it, and replace the damaged piles.
“Before that, we are commissioning Buildwell, the contractor, and divers to conduct a thorough investigation of all affected areas so that we can incorporate the findings into our final design,” he said.
Umahi directed that the investigation be completed within 10 days.
“I want to apologise to Lagosians. We are solving problems we did not create.
“When we came on board, some sections of the Eko Bridge had been completely burnt because people were living and trading under the bridge, using chemicals and other wares. Buildwell was already contracted for the repairs before we assumed office, but funding issues stalled the project until President Bola Tinubu gave it a strong push.”
The minister assured that the Federal Government would also take immediate action on the Third Mainland Bridge but would not demolish it.
“We have invited an external expert to review the six previous investigations. He will design how to strengthen the deteriorated piers and those detached from the pier caps, after which we will determine the repair cost,” Umahi said.
He called on Nigerians to appreciate the infrastructure development efforts of the Tinubu administration.
