Minister of Works, Sen. Dave Umahi on Friday called on the National Assembly to declare a State of Emergency on the Third Mainland and Carter Bridges in Lagos State.
According to him, doing so would quicken expedited repairs of the bridges and ward off potential disasters, the minister declared during an inspection of key infrastructural projects in Lagos State.
He stressed that urgency and special attention were needed from the lawmakers to nip the deterioration of the bridges in the bud as they require specialised underwater repairs.
Only the Second Mainland Bridge (Eko Bridge) was allowed to take heavy vehicles for now as the Third Mainland and Carter Bridges faced critical infrastructural challenges, he said.
“We have critical underwater challenges on the Third Mainland Bridge.
“The first is the deflection of the slab, which is nothing to worry about as we shall repair it as we did on Eko Bridge and it will stop deflecting.
“The second one is the deterioration of the piers, the pier caps and the pier cap covers. The contractor is already mobilised about four weeks ago and is working on it.
“Cost of rehabilitation of the Third Mainland Bridge is estimated at ₦21 billion,’’ he said.
“I want the National Assembly to take very special note that this is the worst of the challenges we are having on these two bridges.
“Cost of rehabilitation of Carter Bridge is ₦25 billion.
“We have mobilised the contractor, Julius Berger Nigeria PLC., with ₦7 billion for Carter Bridge seven days ago and ₦6 billion for the Third Mainland Bridge,’’ he said.
Furthermore, he said, reconstruction of the Third Mainland Bridge could cost ₦6 trillion if the rehabilitation was not done speedily.
He also announced that the Third Mainland Bridge would be open to motorists within the next seven days.
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