Follow Us on Google
From Isaac Anumihe, Abuja
Federal Government has ordered those cooking under the Carter Bridge to relocate immediately to avoid any serious damage to the health of the bridge.
Minister of Works, Engineer Dave Nweze Umahi who gave the order during the inspection of Carter,Third Mainland and Eko bridges allayed the fears of road users in Lagos about the integrity of Third Mainland Bridge.
In a statement, he assured that some of the elements which are defective are going to be fixed, adding that there’s nothing to worry about.
“We are going to reinstate those defective slabs with the new design.” he said
Fielding questions from newsmen after the joint assessment of the three bridges in company of the Minister of Finance and Co-ordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, the minister explained that over the years, after the construction of the bridge, there was no serious maintenance. He, therefore, assured that the failure of the bridge would be addressed.
“So, we are working on the problems about the bridges.”he noted
On the state of Lagos shoreline, Umahi stressed that the shore protection on the marina needs urgent attention, noting that the Lagos Railway Project, the blue line might be threatened if nothing is done to address the matter.
The two ministers who agreed that there was need for rehabilitation work to be carried out, noted that the impact created by the current of water under the bridges and on the shoreline need intervention.
On the ongoing rehabilitation of the Third Mainland Bridge, the minister revealed that some comprehensive works would be done especially in areas of provision of streetlights on and under the bridge and installation of CCTV will be done. While praising the work being done by the contractor, he assured that the bridge would be opened to road users soon.
In his remarks, Wale Edun commended the Minister of Works and his team of officials for their efforts at rehabilitating the roads and bridges describing them as very important for economic development.
He said that the Federal Government was looking to raise revenue to finance infrastructure, pointing out that the government is targeting and working towards a 77 per cent increase in internally- generated revenue for the Federal Government.
“So that is where the funding particularly is going to come from”, he submitted.
Meanwhile, during the inspection, the Works Minister upon sighting those cooking under the Carter Bridge, ordered that security be mobilised to stop the menace, adding that they be relocated immediately to avoid any serious damage to the health of the bridge.
The two ministers later visited the Lagos – Calabar coastal highway and met with the contractor to review progress work on the project. The project when completed is expected to go through the shoreline linking Lagos with Calabar .
In the inspection were senior government officials from the ministry, officials of Julius Berger and some journalists.
