Third mainland bridge closure: Why we shifted maintenance test to Aug 24 ―FG

THE Federal Government has explained that the three-day closure of the Third Mainland Bridge for Investigative Maintenance test earlier slated to commence on July 27, 2018, was shifted to August 24 to give succour and relief to Lagosians who would be affected as a result of the temporal closure.

The Shutdown, earlier scheduled to last from July 27 to July 30 will now last from August 24 to August 26, 2018.

The Minister of Power, Works and Housing Babatunde Fashola in a statement issued by his Media aide, Hakeem Bello said due consultations were made with the Lagos State Government and wide deliberations with other relevant stakeholders which brought about the changes.

The third mainland bridge shut down according to the Minister, became imperative to ascertain whether there had been any material deterioration between the period of first procurement for maintenance of the Bridge was approved.

He added that the three days closure would be used “to really do an examination just to be sure that there has been no material deterioration beyond what we procured.”

He said the investigation would have been carried out earlier but the need to reduce the inconveniences that would accompany the closure compelled the FG to shift the time to a more convenient period when children would be on vacation and when fewer vehicles were likely to be on the Bridge.

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“We thought that if we allowed the children to go on vacation first it would reduce the number of vehicles that needed necessarily to be on the road and ultimately reduce the amount of inconvenience. But now we are torn between maintenance and safety and peoples’ convenience,” he said.

He added that it was only after the assessment that government engineers and the contracting firms would lay out the plan of work.

“I think it is later in the year or early next year that the repairs will then start”, pointing out that some of the equipment and materials have to be imported,” he added.

In another development, the Minister said he has directed the immediate deployment of trucks to the trailer park being constructed by the Ministry with the capacity to accommodate about 300 trucks while construction works for the shoreline protection continues.

He said this is in efforts to decongest the Oshodi-Apapa Expressway.

Fashola also disclosed an on-going palliative work on the sections of the Apapa-Oshodi Road and construction of the road leading to the Apapa Port from Ijora will soon be completed.

“As a short-term measure, a call-up system in the control of truck movement would be introduced adding that it would be initially manual while the long-term digital and ICT based system would be developed and deployed. The Association of Truck Owners has agreed to manage the manual system with their members who are truck operators,” he added.