The Oworo-bound section of the Third Mainland Bridge, has been closed from midnight on Saturday (May 25) until 6.00 p.m. on Sunday (May 26), to enable the Federal Ministry of Works carry out urgent repairs on the bridge.
Penpushing reports that the Federal Controller of Works in Lagos State, Olukorede Kesha, made this known in a statement, regretting all the inconveniences that the closure might cause motorists, and advised them to use alternative routes.
The Third Mainland Bridge is the longest of three bridges connecting Lagos Island to the mainland, the others are the Eko and Carter bridges, and it was the longest bridge in Africa until 1996 when the 6th October Bridge located in Cairo was completed.
Penpushing further reports that the bridge starts from Oworonshoki which is linked to the Apapa-Oshodi expressway and Lagos-Ibadan expressway, and ends at the Adeniji Adele Interchange on Lagos Island, while there is also a link midway through the bridge that leads to Herbert Macaulay Way, Yaba.
The bridge was built by Julius Berger Nigeria PLC, while the phase one of the project was commissioned by President Shehu Shagari in 1980 and completed by President Ibrahim Babangida in 1990; it measures about 11.8 km in length.
Penpushing also reports that by 2006, many commuters had reported that the Third Mainland Bridge was vibrating noticeably, indicating that it needed urgent attention, and as a result, remedial work was commenced on portions of the bridge at different times, leading to intermittent partial closure of the bridge.
The Third Mainland Bridge has very high vehicular traffic on weekdays, as many residents commute to and from the Lagos Mainland to the Island, which is the commercial hub of Lagos State, while residents in Ikeja, Agboyi-Ketu, Ikorodu, Isheri, Oworonshoki, Gbagada, Yaba, Maryland and Oshodi often use the bridge on their daily commutes.
Penpushing reports that the bridge is an essential part of Lagos’ daily commuting, and as such requires to be constantly renovated, while it has also come to be a major Lagos icon, offering different views of Lagos—the Lagos Lagoon, the University of Lagos waterfront and Makoko, a shanty town built on the Lagos Lagoon.
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