The flyover which had two lanes, located near the popular New Artisan Market in Enugu, and links Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway in Enugu state has collapsed on Monday leaving commuters stranded
Penpushing reports that only one of the lanes collapsed, a development which attracted a crowd, seen to have gathered around the bridge, in the afternoon, lamenting the collapse, while several stranded motorists were seen struggling to take alternative routes.
The witnesses at the scene said no life was lost in the incident, while a tricycle rider, identified as Ikechukwu Ani, noted that there would have been loss of lives if the incident happened any other day aside Monday.
Penpushing further reports that the tricycle rider cited a sit-at-home order often enforced by a faction of the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra, to have prevented crowd within the vicinity, adding that on a normal day the area is known to be crowded
The tricycle rider thanked God that the incident happened on sit-at-home day, adding that, otherwise many vehicles would have fallen inside during the collapse, as he recalled that a deep hole was noticed last year near the bridge.
Penpushing also reports that Ani said some road workers recently filled up the hole without tackling a breakage noticed on bridge, emphasizing that water penetrated the bridge very well and weakened it, just as it was observed that a pickup truck was seen trapped inside the collapsed bridge.
The officials of the National Emergency Agency, the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), and the Enugu Capital Territory Development Authority were seen at the area, apparently to assess the incident.
Penpushing reports that as at the time of filing this report security agencies, who were personnel of the Nigeria Police Force and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, barricaded the area to avert escalation of the ugly development.
The Head of the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) in the state, Chinasa Mbah, said officials of the agency had been deployed to the area to put check on the development, but said as at the time of this report the cause of the collapse was unknown at the moment.
Penpushing further reports that on his part, Engr Uchenna Ujam an official of the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria, said the incident must have been caused by excess water which penetrated the bridge.
‘We are suspecting that the thing that weakened this area of the bridge is the collection of water that could not flow out for a very long period of time and resulted into this sudden collapse’ Ujam, stated.
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