The Third Mainland Bridge in Lagos State will get N6.28 billion in repair funding thanks to federal government approval.
In a statement to State House reporters on Wednesday following the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting at the Presidential Villa, Minister of Works and Housing Babatunde Fashola stated that the 11-kilometre rehabilitation will be completed over 24 months and will include interchanges, ramps, and crucial linkages.
Fashola claims that the action is in line with Executive Order 11, which President Muhammadu Buhari issued in April 2022 and which gives the nation’s national maintenance program legal support.
In his statement, Fasola said, “Council approved a fresh contract for the maintenance of the pavement of the Third Mainland Bridge and this was approved in the sum of N6.28 billion for a period of 24 months,”
“I have been asked about the works that have been done on the bridge before. The works are concentrating largely on the substructure of the bridge; the underwater piles, the pile caps and also the replacement of the expansion joints and the bearings.
“These are maintenance works that are critical to the structural integrity of the bridge. What we’re dealing with now is different. It is the driving surface and also the aesthetics. Some of the rails have been stolen. Some of the pleats are misaligned at the routes that lead you on and off the bridge.”
Meanwhile, Fashola said there is no plan in place to close the bridge while maintenance is ongoing.
The Lagos State Government announced two weeks ago that it will start restoration work on the 32-year-old bridge to fix the substructure and failing and peeling asphaltic portions.
However, the federal government will handle surface maintenance to fix potholes and replace missing guard rails, and the state’s Public Works Corporation will concentrate on the bridge’s functioning structure, such as the underwater piles.
