Rehabilitation work is expected to begin in earnest, as the federal government has announced a partial closure of the lagos Third Mainland Bridge from midnight on Friday.
This announcement was made by Works and Housing Minister, Babatunde Fashola, on Tuesday, while briefing newsmen in Abuja.
The Minister confirmed that the rehabilitation work will be carried out on 3.5km of the 11.8km of the bridge.
He said the rehabilitation work became imperative due to failing and damaged portions, admitting that the government cannot afford to rebuild the bridge if allowed to collapse.
According to Fashola, the replacement of damaged bars, hydro-demolition of all non-firm parts and lifting of two of the bridge spans, will take a large portion of the work, which is expected to run until January 2021.
Other areas of the bridge to be fixed, are the anti-rust treatment of exposed bars, replacement of 14 damaged expansion joints and other auxiliary works to make the bridge safer for commuters.
“The construction of the bridge spanned three decades and we cannot afford to rebuild it if we allow it to totally collapse. Infrastructure must be maintained. After the work is done, we will have better driving experience on the bridge,” Fashola said. NNL.
