12th July, 2018
The Chairman of the Lagos State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Dr Quasim Akinreti, on Thursday joined other Lagos residents in commending the Federal Government on its plan to repair the Third Mainland Bridge.
The 11.8 km bridge, the longest in Nigeria, was inaugurated by the Federal Government in 1990.
The Federal Executive Council last May approved a total of N99.01 billion for repair and maintenance of roads and bridges nationwide with the Third Mainland expected to gulp about N18.874 billion.
On July 11, the Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing announced that the bridge would be closed for three days to carry out tests toward repairing the facility.
According to the ministry, the closure will be between midnight of July 26 and midnight of July 29, to allow contractors to complete dynamic tests before commencement of repairs.
The rehabilitation of the bridge is expected to last for 27 months, during which period there would be partial closure of the bridge.
Speaking on the repairs, Akinreti said that rehabilitation of the bridge was long overdue, lauding government for taking up the project.
He said although the intervention would cause some discomfort to motorists, it was better than risking damage to the bridge.
“The bridge is the most important and busiest link between Lagos Island and the Mainland.
“Where there is no pain, there is no gain. We just have to take the bold step at the right time.’’
Akinreti advised Lagos residents to be patient and endure the temporary pain because of the immense benefits from the repairs.
A resident of 1004 Estate, Mrs Ladidi Samuel, also told NAN that the rehabilitation was necessary to prevent disaster on the bridge.
“It is good to have a good maintenance culture and I appreciate the proactive step the government is taking. It is not when there is problem that we should start running helter-skelter. A stitch in time they say, saves nine.
“Of course there would be some discomfort during the process of repairs but safety is the ultimate,’’ she said.
A commercial bus driver, Mr Boladale Ajani, who plies the Iyana Ipaja-Obalende/CMS route also told NAN that the repair was important to ease commuting in the state.
“If anything bad happens to that bridge then there will no longer be Lagos. I am happy that they want to repair it. People should just adjust themselves a little and shortly, everything will be ok.
“The repair is good for us transporters and also for our passengers because good roads make traffic good, so we thank President Buhari for his good gesture to Lagosians,” Ajani said.