FG plans to reopen the Eko and Apongbon bridges ahead of schedule. This would occur by midnight on July 9, 2023, six days sooner than originally anticipated.
Mr Omotayo Awosanya, Director for Highways, Bridges, and Designs in the Federal Ministry of Works, affirmed this while leading a tour of the bridges with senior engineers from the Federal team and Lagos State.
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According to him, this is to ease the suffering of road users who have been subjected to commute stress as a result of the infrastructure closures.
In 2022, both the Apongbon and Eko Bridges were destroyed by fires caused by human activity.
The Apongbon Bridge was damaged by fire in March 2022, and plans to complete it in December were hampered by another fire on November 4 that affected the Ijora Olopa part of the Eko Bridge.
The Ijora Olopa part of the Marine Bridge, on the other hand, was closed on May 17, 2023, for public safety.
The FG had previously met behind closed doors with Buildwell Plants and Equipment Industries Limited, the project’s contractors, in their construction yard in Costain.
Mr Awosanya stated that the date review was developed out of the necessity to relieve commuters’ tension for over a year since the Apongbon Bridge, both above and beneath, and the Ijora-Olopa stretch of the Eko Bridge, which was inspected by the joint team.
At exactly midnight on Sunday, July 9, the bridges will be reopened so that commuters can travel freely on Monday, July 10.
He stated that when the bridges reopen, there will be occasional short closures to allow for repairs to be completed.
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He stated that full-scale repair would continue on other portions of the Eko Bridge for the duration of the contract, which is set to last three years.
The joint delegation from the Federal and Lagos State governments also inspected the Ijora Olopa part of the Marine Bridge, which is expected to be finished in September 2023.
