The Federal Government, on Saturday, July 8, 2023, opened the Eko Bridge in Lagos State for vehicular traffic, 15 months after it was closed by the government for a major repair.
The bridge was severely damaged at the Apogbon section during a fire caused by illegal trading under it. The intensity of the inferno was said to have weakened major components and supporting pillars of the bridge, prompting its closure for extensive repair on the entire stretch.
Eko Bridge is one of the three bridges linking the mainland to the Island of Lagos.
The bridge’s reopening brought huge relief for motorists and commuters, who endured months of pain transiting in and out of Lagos Island.
Speaking at the reopening of the flyover on Saturday, Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, said the repair at the Apogbon axis had been completed, adding that maintenance work would continue on the infrastructure, which would lead to intermittent closures in the coming months.
Sanwo-Olu conveyed the Federal Government’s apology to Lagos residents for the delay in getting the bridge back to use, stressing that it would be risky to reopen the bridge without proper reconstruction of the damaged section.
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The governor said: “It is with great delight to announce that we have carried out comprehensive tests with the contractor from the Federal Ministry of Works and we believe that Apogbon section of the Eko Bridge can now be opened for motorists. But the maintenance work on the entire bridge has not been completed. There are lots of bearings that still need to be reinforced along the entire stretch of the infrastructure.
“In future, there will be more intermittent closures at different sections of the bridge but the period may not be longer than one or two weeks. This is necessary for us to jerk up the bridge and complete the maintenance work. We are reopening the bridge to bring relief to road users, who have endured hardship due to the repair work.”
He stated that the contractor handling the work would also be reconstructing ancillary roads along the corridor to prevent further misuse of the bridge, adding that continuous trading activities under the bridge would no longer be permitted to prevent further damage to the flyover.
Governor Sanwo-Olu, however, issued a seven-day ultimatum to all traders and illegal squatters to remove their belongings and vacate the space under the Eko Bridge.
Sanwo-Olu, therefore, directed the Lagos State Environment and Special Offences Enforcement Unit (Taskforce) to clear any illegal structure found under the bridge after the ultimatum.
On his part, the Federal Comptroller of Works, Engr. Olukorede Keisha, thanked the Lagos State Government for collaborating with the Federal Ministry of Works to hasten up the repair work on the bridge, noting that the reopening of the bridge was made possible because of the intervention of the state government.
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