“It is going to be a complete overhauling of the asphalt layer on both bounds and then replacing it with new ones, so that will give us relief for the next 10 years.”
According to Mrs. Olukorede Keisha, the Federal Controller of Works for Lagos State, a thorough overhaul of the asphalt layers on the Third Mainland Bridge would start at the end of January 2024.
In an interview with Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Friday, Mrs. Keisha revealed this information and added that the bridge would be closed for six months to allow for adequate repairs.
“So we were proposing that we overhaul the asphalt overlay completely, as we haven’t done so in the past 30 years for some of them. We have only been addressing the failures that have become apparent, she continued.
We shall be relieved for the following 10 years because both borders’ asphalt layers will be completely overhauled and replaced with new ones.
The Federal Government has already awarded that contract, and because some repair components need to be imported, preparation work will need to be done before the contractor can go to the site.
In the interim, we merely want to conduct palliative work to comfort drivers, she said.
The contractor will require three months to import the components for the repair.
“One bound will be blocked off for three months, then traffic will be redirected to the other bound when this bound is finished.”
We were going to have a whole new road after that, she remarked.
The Third Mainland Bridge will be closed to traffic for palliative work from Saturday, October 21, 2023, to Sunday, October 22, 2023, the Federal Government stated on Thursday.
The Controller emphasised that the Third Mainland project was significantly dependent on the funding allocated for the Federal highways around the state while discussing the repairs that would begin tomorrow.
“You know you can’t do beyond the funds available to you. What we have been doing is in accordance with the funds available.”
Nigeria is a big country, so the 37 states will have to split the monies available to the Federal Ministry of Works in their totality.
Therefore, all of the Federal highways in Lagos will have to share whatever comes to us.
She also stated that the current administration was intended to abandon the former method of nationwide road maintenance.
“What we have been doing is sectional repairs; we examine the areas that have failed and promptly address those areas, and when you address this area this year, you discover another area is going to come up next year.”
However, the new administration has rejected sectional repairs, stating that doing so would result in a return to the status quo and a failure in a different location the following year.
