Less than twenty-four hours after it was closed for repairs to some critical areas, the Federal Government has reopened the Third Mainland Bridge.
After the repairs were completed, Sunday evening at around 7 p.m., the bridge was once again open for traffic.
Recall that the government announced on Thursday that the bridge would be closed for 24 hours in order to carry out repairs?
To lessen the difficulty faced by drivers, the closure went into force at midnight on Saturday and continued until midnight on Sunday.
Olukorede Kesha, the Federal Controller of Works in Lagos, had earlier expressed satisfaction with the bridge’s repairs during an inspection.
The controller made several stops along the route between Iyana-Oworo and Adeniji-Adele during the inspection, where corrective repairs had been done on a 9.7-kilometer stretch of the Lagos Island inbound lane.
She stated that the construction was just palliative work to keep the highway in good condition, pending the comprehensive rehabilitation scheduled for January 2024, which would last for six months.
Kesha said the contract for the comprehensive rehabilitation of the bridge has been awarded and would be divided into two segments of three months for each phase.
The controller said some of the components needed for the comprehensive rehabilitation works were being imported for the emergency repairs to begin.
She added that what the Federal Ministry of Works had been doing before now was attending to failed portions, adding that the comprehensive rehabilitation would involve total removal and replacement of the asphalt surface.
The controller added that damaged ramps and expansion joints would be replaced, and the painting of the parapet walls and other major repairs.
Kesha explained that the comprehensive repairs would give the infrastructure a new lease of life, after which the bridge would wear a new look.
She, therefore, assured motorists of a smooth ride till the commencement of comprehensive rehabilitation in January 2024.
Ada Peter
