The Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing has re-opened the Ijora 7Up Bridge which was closed to traffic for repairs in July, following the completion of rehabilitation works.
The ministry has also begun rehabilitation works on the Third Mainland and Alaka Bridges.
Speaking at the re-opening of the Ijora Bridge to traffic, the Federal Controller of Works in Lagos, Adedamola Kuti, who noted that the damaged bridge was closed for repairs about five months ago said that all the expansion joints on the bridge were bad, adding that some other deteriorated portions made the bridge unsafe; hence, its closure for repairs.
He said: “This is about the third bridge in Lagos that we have completed maintenance work on. Earlier on, we completed that of Marine Beach.
“We completed Coconut Bridge and now, this is the third one, Ijora 7Up Bridge. Hopefully, in a couple of months, we should be completing the Leventis Bridge.
“Tomorrow, Saturday, we shall be starting off with the maintenance of Alaka Bridge in Lagos,’’ he said.
The Chief Executive Officer of Hallekem Ltd., the Contractor that handled the repairs, Haim Halle, disclosed to newsmen that the bridge was badly damaged due to lack of drainage channels, but assured that they had saved it.
“All the expansion joints are Alga products from Italy. We have used original products that will allow the bridge last up to 30 years, if properly maintained.
“We saved the bridge. Everything was rotten for several years because of lack of drainage; so we just created the drainage.
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“We recovered the bridge; not just the asphalt but the overlay which we started in July and finished in November. We finished the work in five months instead of the one year period for the contract,’’ he said.
While inspecting repairs on the Third Mainland Bridge on Friday night, Kuti said repair of the bridge began about two weeks ago, noting that measures were adopted to avert gridlock.
The controller explained that the repairs were being done at night on the Third Mainland Bridge to avert gridlock and minimise hardship for road users.
“We work on the bridge at night when there is less traffic and only shut the section we are working on and allow cars to go on the other lane. We continue work through the night till about 5:00 a.m.,’’ he said.
“We want to thank Lagosians for their patience with us. This is just a necessity.
