The federal government has assured motorists and sundry road users who make use of the Eko Bridge to access their homes, offices or shops on Lagos Island that they are working hard to ensure that the suffering on that route does not last longer than necessary.
Olukayode Popoola, the federal controller of work in Lagos, who gave this assurance in a telephone interview with BusinessDay on Tuesday, said that while the result of a sample of the burnt Akpongbon Bridge taken for testing was being awaited, the government has decided to do remedial work on the bridge.
Since March 23 when a section of Akpongbon Bridge was burnt, leading to its closure to traffic, commuting to the island through the Eko Bridge, which is linked to the burnt bridge, has been a nightmare with travel time and cost pushed up by over 50 percent.
Eko Bridge, also referred to as Second Mainland Bridge in Lagos, is quite strategic economically being the most direct link between Lagos Mainland and the Island—the city’s business hub. The bridge, built in 1975, came as a major relief on the Carter Bridge which was built in 1901.
“We have decided to do remedial work on the burnt section of the bridge by putting up some reinforcement and casting them. That, we hope, will be able to hold the bridge pending when the result of the test is out to enable us do a comprehensive repair work on the bridge,” the controller said
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“I am a Lagosian and I know what people are going through on Eko Bridge as a result of the fire incident on Akpongbon Bridge. Eko Bridge is important to all of us, especially those who live on the Island or have their businesses in that axis. As government, we are concerned and that is why we are doing our best to ensure that the suffering on that route is ended,” he added.
The controller, however, noted that the work they were doing was not to be a-day-job, explaining that it’s a purely engineering work that involves reinforcement and concrete. “We will mount the reinforcement, cast the concrete and then allow it to set. After one week, we will test to determine the strength of the concrete work. We will test again after 14 days and allow it to set further for another one week. It is after these 28 days that we may consider the bridge fit to carry traffic load,” he said.
When this reporter visited the site Tuesday morning, it was noticed that the contractor was at work with his workers, but they were still at the preliminary stage of the main remedial work.
“We have spent some days trying to clear this place of these burnt items which we call organic materials. We don’t allow them to mix up with the concrete work we want to do here. After this, we will start excavation to enable us mount the reinforcement and cast the concrete,” one of the workers said.
The worker who declined a request to mention his name, noted that how fast the work would go would depend on funding from government which reflects what Adedamola Kuti, Director, Federal Highways at Federal Ministry of Works and Housing told BusinessDay on Monday.
“What happened at Akpongbon Bridge was an accident and the repair work needs planning. It is not as if government has money kept somewhere waiting for such incidents to occur. It needs planning and, oftentimes, this planning takes time. Motorists have to bear with the government,” he pleaded.
Popoola also appealed to motorists and other road users to be patient with government, advising however that people should talk to the traders who have converted spaces under the bridges to shops.
“They should vacate those places because under the bridge is not a business premise and so should not be used as one. It is the duty of all of us to get the traders out of those bridges,” the controller said.
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