The Federal Government said it has embarked on an underwater investigation of the Third Mainland Bridge in Lagos as it works toward an emergency maintenance closure of the bridge.
The Minister of Works, Mr David Umahi, who disclosed this on Wednesday during the second day of his tour of Lagos/Ogun State ongoing road projects, said the federal government would resurface the Third Mainland Bridge.
According to him, N60 billion had already been approved for the maintenance of the top and underneath.
Umahi, a team of engineers and top directors of the Federal Ministry of Works took a boat from Ebute Ero Jetty to see structural members of bridges on the Lagoon.
The boat took Umahi, who is a civil engineer and his team to inspect the Third Mainland Bridge, Carter Bridge, and Eko Bridge, the oldest of the three bridges linking Lagos Island to the Mainland.
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Addressing journalists, the minister gave technical details of the deterioration of various underwater structural members of all the bridges and the need for emergency intervention to save them.
The minister said the government was concerned about the structural integrity of components underneath the three bridges linking the mainland and the Island.
He announced plans for another round of emergency repairs of the Third Mainland Bridge due to the level of deterioration.
Umahi said that a contractor would soon be mobilized to the site, to work between midnight and 4.00 a.m. in the morning on top of the Third Mainland Bridge for minimal stress on motorists.
He said that a comprehensive report for all the bridges in Lagos would be made to also include a proposal for security infrastructure and surveillance to prevent vandalism.
The minister said the proposal, through a consultant, would be presented to the Federal Executive Council within 30 days for consideration.