FG confirms defects on Third Mainland Bridge, begins immediate repairs

The federal government is to commence immediate repairs of the Third Mainland Bridge in Lagos with the complete resurfacing of the entire stretch of the bridge, beginning from November 1. The Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, an engineer, who toured the bridge and others in Lagos on Saturday, confirmed that there were deflects on most of the bridges in the state requiring urgent intervention.

Apart from the Third Mainland Bridge, other bridges inspected included Carter Bridge, Eko Bridge, Independent Bridge, Marine Bridge, 5 Cowry Bridge, among others, most of which connect the Lagos Mainland to the Island.

The minister embarked on the tour of the bridges using ferry to assess their decks, pile caps and other structures of the bridges.

According to the minister, all the bridges need special intervention to keep them safe and fit for the use of motorists.

He said the government would fix those that deflected while the ones that are yet to deflect would also be attended to, to ensure they don’t deflect.

He said the repair of the Third Mainland Bridge would be in five phases, including the asphalt resurfacing, repair of the under-deck, the pile caps, the bearings, among others, adding that each component of the work would be handled by different contractors.

He said the resurfacing of the bridge would be in addition to changing the light to solar, while CCTV cameras would be mounted on it.

He disclosed that all things being equal, the resurfacing of the Third Mainland Bridge would last three months, adding that in order not to inconvenience motorists, the contractor would be working from 12am to 4am and work during the day on weekends (Saturday and Sunday).