When this bridge collapses

And there will be plenty of chaos and pandemonium  because the casualties will be heavy. National Emergency Relief Agency will be called in and our health services will become overstretched. Everyone prays not to be  caught  in the catastrophe that would occur if official indifference continues.  The bridge linking Apapa to Lagos  through  Ijora was constructed over 60 years ago and it was constructed to serve the Apapa  Port for the export and import of goods. This bridge network was at that point a feeder to the railway services which was quite effective in the evacuation of goods from  the port . After a few decades the Tin Can Island Port was commissioned to cope with our import dependent economy and most of the trucks and articulated vehicles still continued to utilize this  Apapa Port as an easy access to the hinterland. In the intervening period between the construction of the TCIP , the railway network collapsed entirely  such that the rail tracks have become covered by shrubs and sand deposits . The  rail tracks  and land areas that were specifically designed for the rapid  movement of cargo were turned into offices and trailer parks.

Available  records show that  no comprehensive maintainance  the Apapa bridge has been carried out since its construction . The last face lift that was done under the auspices of Chief Anthony Anenih as Minister of Works and even at that  ,the maintainance was sinecure and that bridge even in best of times  because of the technology used in its construction remains a nightmare for motorists and their shock absorbers.

Over time businesses, new concessionaires and tank farms have become domiciled in Apapa and the pressure on the bridge has become unbearable. It has become grossly inadequate to take the amount of cargo that passes through and sometimes static on it  on a daily basis. No bridge is configured to take the amount of the dead weight  of laden tankers and tonnage of goods  that the Apapa bridge has endured and it is  now a question of time before the bridge collapses. On a daily basis over 300,000 dead weight is static on that bridge.

For the last ten years that particular bridge has endured static container and tanker traffic  and in the same period the former Governor of lagos State had a running battle with the tanker  drivers over the dangers posed to the bridge  and on  all occasions the agreements were honoured in the breach when the tanker drivers threatened to proceed on strike and punish the entire nation with scarcity of petroleum products which remains a scarce commodity in many parts of the country .

The Federal Government identified the reformation of the ports as one of the key pillars in its economic transformation  agenda, but the Special Adviser on Port Reforms , Professor Sylvester Monye  appears to have thrown in the towel because the situation in and around the ports have deteriorated beyond comprehension. The Special Adviser is so far away from the theatre of the issues and consistent with the Nigerian attitude nothing will be done until the bridge collapses and we embark on the regular platitude of mourning  the  victims and  thereafter award a multi-billion Naira contract for the reconstruction of the bridge. A stitch in time will surely save a bridge and the lamentations that will surely follow. The matters arising from this state of affairs is also true of the bridge linking Tin Can Island and  Apapa  and  any other bridge that has to carry heavy static traffic.

Indeed with the chaos that Apapa has become  Professor Monye should either resign or be sacked. He has failed the President.

  Available statistics from Engineers , Road Safety Corp and the Ministry of works reveals the sheer number of lorries, containers and tankers  that ply the bridge on a daily basis . Closer inspection will also reveal    the very precarious state of the bridge  and attempts have been made at the Malu Road intersection to prop and reinforce the bridge by adding pillars and fortifications .  Anyone who has used the bridge in recent times will have observed that  the some of the  joints on the bridge have become so loose that a 2 metre  object can be slid through it  and the bridge vibrates dangerously .

To be fair, the Lagos mainland bridge also vibrates, but the Mainland bridge is constructed over water  while the Apapa bridge is over land . It is therefore expected that the Apapa bridge should  be more stable than the mainland bridge.  Again while little attention is  being paid to the Apapa bridge , the Mainland bridge has  undergone regular comprehensive silt and engineering maintainance , the Apapa bridge has been maintained  only once  since its construction. It is important to note  that there have been bridge collapses around the world  that have not endured anything near the weight and abuse  that the Apapa bridge have had to carry over the last few years.

The violent vibration of the Apapa bridge is the direct result of the  static traffic that goes  through the bridge which  has increased in epi –phenomenal proportions over the last 10 years. The traffic situation has been exacerbated by bad roads, roads that have been put in deplorable state by the tankers and containers who ply them on a regular basis.  The roads in Apapa have collapsed entirely in the face of government abdication of its responsibilities in a location that is a cash cow.

The port  concessionaires  and tank farm operators have also by their operations   put unbearable pressure on the bridge and adjoining  roads to the tank farms and terminals  because they have failed to provide trailer terminals for their articulated vehicles  and as a consequence of which the entire Apapa bridge and adjoining  roads have become a huge parking lots for these businesses. It must be said that for as long as these businesses and their practices  are unregulated, then the economy of Apapa will become prostate especially if the bridge eventually collapses under the weight of these tankers  and containers.

Chuks Nwana