The federal government on Wednesday granted N6.28 billion naira for the maintenance of the Third Mainland Bridge in Lagos State.
After this week’s Federal Executive Council meeting at the Presidential Villa, Babatunde Fashola, the minister of works and housing, briefed State House reporters. He stated that the 11 kilometres of repairs, which will span over a 24-month period, will include interchanges, ramps, and crucial links.
He said that the action was in line with Executive Order 11, which was issued by President Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retired) in April 2022 and gave the nation’s national maintenance programme legal standing.
Just two weeks ago, the Lagos State Government announced that it would perform restoration work on the 32-year-old Bridge in order to fix foundation and failing and peeled asphaltic parts.
Fashola countered that there won’t be any overlap in efforts.
The previous governor of Lagos State stated that while the FG will handle surface maintenance to fix potholes and replace missing guard rails, the State’s Public Works Corporation will concentrate on the bridge’s functioning structure, such as the underwater piles.
He said “Council approved a fresh contract for the maintenance of the pavement of the third mainland bridge and this was approved in the sum of N6.28bn for a period of 24 months.
“I have been asked about the works that have been done on the bridge before. The works are concentrating largely on the substructure of the bridge; the underwater piles, the pile caps and also the replacement of the expansion joints and the bearings.
“These are maintenance works that are critical to the structural integrity of the bridge. What we’re dealing with now is different. It is the driving surface and also the aesthetics. Some of the rails have been stolen. Some of the pleats are misaligned at the routes that lead you on and off the bridge.”
Fashola added that there are no anticipated prolonged closures during the works.
Meanwhile, the council also approved N17.5bn variation for the contract for the construction of the old Enugu-Onitsha road whose current sum now stands at N48.99bn.
