Lagos to shut 3rd Mainland Bridge for 4 days

The Lagos State government has said that the 3rd Mainland Bridge will be temporarily shut down for four days starting from the midnight of August 23 to midnight of August 26, 2018, for investigative maintenance test to be carried out.

The state Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, Mr. Ade Akinsanya, who disclosed this in a statement, said the decision was taken after due consultation with the Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing.

The four-day closure, according to Akinsanya, will enable the contractors assess the true state of the bridge after which work would
commence by the end of the year or early 2019.

The Daily Times recalls that the federal government had earlier announced plans to shut the bridge in July, but this had to be shelved after due consultation with the state government and other stakeholders, who expressed concern about the indiscriminate parking of articulated vehicles on other alternative routes which would have adversely affected traffic.

Subsequently, the joint task force set up to remove the articulated vehicles from the affected alternative routes was able to achieve some measure of success.

Justifying the need for the closure, the commissioner said that “the 3rd Mainland Bridge which was opened about 30 years ago has had haphazard maintenance and repairs in the past which the present government is committed to correct by carrying out proper and continuous maintenance and repairs on it”.

Consequently, the state government appealed for the cooperation, support and understanding of all motorists and residents, advising
them to minimize non-essential travel and movements during the four-day closure.

Besides, Akinsanya said all traffic management agencies, including the Lagos state Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) and the police, among others, have been mandated to ensure the smooth flow of traffic on all the other alternative roads and traffic corridor across the metropolis.