The government of Nigeria has announced a temporary shut down of the Third Mainland Bridge for a period of four days to allow investigative maintenance test to be carried out.
According to the state Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, Mr Ade Akinsanya, the decision came after a concluded consultation with the Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing. The agreed date for the shut down has been set for August 23 to midnight of August 26, 2018 .
The four-day closure, according to Akinsanya, will enable the contractors assess the true state of the bridge after which works will commence by the end of the year or early in 2019.
Shut down plan
The Third Minland Bridge was early scheduled for shut down in July but had to be postponed after wide deliberations by the government and stakeholders who who expressed concern about the indiscriminate parking of articulated vehicles on other alternative routes which will have adverse affect on traffic.
However, a Joint Task Force set up to remove the articulated vehicles from the highway was able to achieve tremendous success.
Also read: Nigeria’s Third Mainland Bridge to be shut for tests this July
“The Third Mainland Bridge which was opened about 30 years ago by the then military government has had haphazard maintenance and repairs in the past which the present federal government is committed to correcting by carrying out proper and continuous maintenance and repairs on it,” said Akinsanya
Akinsanya added that all traffic management agencies, including the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) and the police among others, have been mandated to ensure smooth flow of traffic on all the other alternative roads and traffic corridor across the metropolis to ensure free flow of traffic.
The state government appealed for the cooperation, support and understanding of all motorists and residents, advising them to minimise non-essential travel and movements during the four-day closure.
