The Federal and Lagos State Governments have appealed to road users to obey traffic advisory to minimise gridlock following the shutdown of Alaka Bridge linking Eko Bridge for repairs.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the Federal Government on Tuesday night shut the bridge for emergency repairs after discovering some bad bearings threatening its structural integrity.
Speaking during a media briefing on Wednesday under the failed sections of the bridge, Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu said that gridlock would be minimal if road users obeyed traffic officers.
Sanwo-Olu said that traffic law enforcement officers had been deployed to manage the situation.
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“It is really more about law and order. So if people can just obey the traffic officers and just be patient, sometimes a lack of patience is usually the thing that causes the tailback of traffic.
“So if people are patient, and if proper information as to the directions has been given, then you can plan your journey well ahead.
“We will continue to announce and inform people about where we feel that there will be huge traffic, so it is not that it is going to solve overnight.
“So it is really more communication around people being patient and obeying traffic officers, traffic rules and once you do that, it will ease movement on the road,” he said.
Sanwo-Olu, while calling for the use of alternative routes, said that the safety of road users was important, hence, the immediate closure of the bridge for maintenance.
According to him, the restriction on the bridge will be from the Alaka end inward Lagos Island, the stretch from Alaka up onto Costain.
“So people can join going to Lagos Island from Costain instead of climbing from Alaka Bridge,” he said.
He blamed the wear and tear on the bridge on the indiscriminate parking of articulated vehicles, stating that the bridges were not designed for static loads.
The Federal Controller of Works in Lagos, Mr Adedamola Kuti, said that the bridge was constructed in 1976 and had been having periodic maintenance.
“This is Eko Bridge, and we just discovered that the bearings are gone, especially on this particular peer. So the bearings are broken, and we are having a problem with the bridge deck.
“As a matter of fact, the bridge is no longer safe for public use, and so pending further detailed investigation, we need to close the bridge, to have an assessment of the particular bearing,” Kuti said.
He said that the ministry had been carrying out regular maintenance on most of the bridges and was presently on Independence Bridge.
According to him, the ministry has done maintenance works on Ojuelegba, Alaka, Dormanlong, Third Mainland bridges, among others.
NAN