For motorists in Lagos, especially those who must go through Adekunle-Adeniji axis and other adjoining routes to Third Mainland Bridge, this is another weekend of long hours in traffic as the Lagos State government will be closing the Adekunle to Adeniji section of the bridge, beginning from today, Friday, October 30, 2020.
The closure of the bridge, the second time in the last couple of months, starts from midnight today to Sunday, November 1, 2020, meaning that traffic will be diverted to alternative routes which will increase not only travel time, but also cost for commuters.
But all for good in the long run. Babatunde Fashola, Nigeria’s minister for works and housing, had, during an inspection of the repair work on the bridge which is planned to end in January 2021, thanked Lagosians for their patience and understanding, bearing in mind that when the work was done, it would improve their driving experience and reduce travel time.
When people describe Lagos as a difficult environment for both living and business, it is because the city is not fluid. The city has very poor transport system which makes movement from one point to another not only tortuous bit also risky.
Closure of a road in one part of the city comes with spiral effects on other locations which, under normal circumstances, that is if the transport system is working, should not be felt in those other parts.
But, in the present instance, the closure of the Adekunle to Adeniji section will definitely affect all roads leading to places like Yaba, Oyingbo, Costain, Ijora, Apapa etc. Each of these routes, especially Apapa, already has its traffic challenge, hence the need for motorists to plan their movement properly.
Frederic Oladeinde, the Commissioner for Transportation in Lagos, noted that in a statement obtained by BusinessDay that this second phase closure of the bridge for repair work is coming two weeks behind schedule as a result of delays occasioned by the EndSARS protest around Lagos metropolis.
“It is, however, essential to have it urgently done to prevent vibrations on the bridge during the casting-in-place of the newly installed expansion joints which, in turn, will allow the special concrete achieve its required compressive strength,” Oladeinde explained.
Earlier, the commissioner had explained that the casting of the expansion joints wiould be in two phases due to the number of expansion joints that would be casted and to effectively manage the attendant traffic, hence, repair works slated for weekends to minimize inconveniences that might arise from the total closure.
Appreciating the patience exhibited by Lagosians from the commencement date of the project, Oladeinde hinted that the previous alternative routes remain the same for road users to utilize during the closure period, while LASTMA and other traffic management agencies would be on ground to direct traffic for easy vehicular movement.
He assured that the section of the bridge between Adekunle and Iyana–Oworo still remained open as well as Ebute Metta outbound section into Iyana-Oworo.
“The state government hereby appeals to residents of the state, especially motorists that ply these corridors, to stay calm and key into the various measures put in place in order to achieve the January 2021 deadline for the completion of the project,” the commissioner said.
