President Mohammadu Buhari commissioned the new Ikom bridge in central Cross River State on Tuesday, May 23, 2023, Nigerian Tribune reports.
The president did the commissioning virtually; during the commissioning, Buhari said the essence of the bridge was to boost trade in and around the Calabar Port and ensure transport connectivity from the area to other parts of the country.
The president said “This is our commitment to upgrade, renew and expand Nigeria’s infrastructure. We do not act on infrastructure by accident. in 8 years, I am proud to say, that we have doubled Nigeria’s stock of infrastructure to gross domestic product GDP from about 20 per cent to over 40 per cent.
“The Ikom Bridge is meant to boost trade, in and around Calabar Port. And facilitate transport connectivity from the south-south, through north central to the northeast.”
The New Ikom Bridge is located on a major South-North arterial highway and has been classified as a high-priority project following the recommendation for its construction by the National Planning Commission.
The construction of the New Bridge at lkom arises from the headroom inadequacy of the existing bridge and the need to cater for heavy-duty vehicles along the project corridor as well as enable the Calabar Sea Port, Airport, and Free Trade Zone to be fully functional and accessible to traffic from the strategic North East and North The New Ikom Bridge is located on a major South – North Central parts of the country.
The scope of works involves the construction of a 360m length Bridge with reinforced concrete deck slab on pre-stressed concrete beams: each 36m long over 10 spans. The width of the bridge is 11m made up of an 8m carriageway and a 1.5m raised walkway with 2 No. 1.75m high precast concrete wall rails.
The scope includes the construction of approach roads and spurs with a total length of 1.2 km: this entails overlay of asphaltic wearing course (40mm thickness) and binder course (60mm thickness) of road pavement.
It also consists of the Provision of a 200mm thick lateritic sub-base on the carriageway and shoulders; Provision of a 200mm thick crushed stone base on carriageway; Provision of 12mm (first coat) and 18mm (second coat) single size aggregate Surface dressed Shoulders; Construction of Reinforced Concrete Culverts, Line Drains and Subsoil Filtration Drains, and other necessary Ancillary Works in the BEME as may be directed.
Speaking more about the project and its implementation, the Minister of Works and Housing who addressed dignitaries at the commissioning virtually, said, “Today Mr President connects Cross River to Benue through the Ikom Bridge.
Fashola added that “This is a story of development and a story of people, which cannot be fully told here. It is a story of how the Mohammadu Buhari administration met the people at their needs, even if many of these people will never meet Mohammadu Buhari in person.” The bridge is now officially and fully set for public use.
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