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The Federal Government has pledged to complete the reconstruction of Lagos’ 1.58-kilometre Carter Bridge within 24 months, bringing forward the original 36-month timeline for the project.
The Minister of Works, Senator Dave Umahi, disclosed this on Monday during an inspection of the Carter Bridge and Iddo Bridge reconstruction projects in Lagos.
Umahi, who was accompanied by the Minister of State for Works, Senator Mohammed Goronyo, and members of the National Assembly, said the government was accelerating the Carter Bridge project because of its importance to traffic movement across Lagos.
The minister said the bridge, which has been in service for more than six decades, had developed serious structural problems because of years of inadequate maintenance.
“Carter Bridge has stayed for over 60 to 70 years with no maintenance.
“The lifespan of every bridge is about 50 years, and what we found out from the underwater survey is that a lot of the piles had detached from the pile caps.
“It is like having the leg removed from the hip. There was also a lot of rust within the piles, while scouring and illegal sand mining contributed to the failure of the bridge,” he said.
Umahi said the government had completed a new design incorporating additional engineering features aimed at improving traffic movement and protecting the structure from future damage.
“Carter Bridge is 1.58km but you are going to see aesthetics, engineering and innovation.
“We are going to be flying one carriageway over the other, increasing the number of ramps to decongest traffic towards the ramp sections.
“We are also having a cable bridge to contain the 105 spans for navigational activities. It is going to be beautiful,” he said.
The minister said China Civil Engineering Construction Company had completed about 15 per cent of preparatory work, including establishing its project yard and constructing access roads, while piling was expected to begin before the end of the week.
He added that gabions and other protective measures would be deployed to shield the bridge foundations from erosion and scouring.
Umahi said the existing Carter Bridge could not be completely shut during construction because of its importance to Lagos traffic.
“If we close Carter Bridge, Lagos will go into katakata (chaos). That is why we are maintaining it while the reconstruction is going on,” he said.
He also said similar measures were being applied to the Third Mainland Bridge to extend its service life by another 50 years, expressing confidence that the reconstructed Carter Bridge would last for more than 100 years.
On the Iddo Bridge, the Federal Controller of Works in Lagos, Olufemi Dare, said three spans 13, 14 and 15 that had completely failed had been replaced.
“Three days ago, we completed the casting, and the bridge has also been elevated, giving us very good headroom underneath.
“In another 10 days, after the concrete has cured, we will open this section to traffic and close the other section, after which demolition will start immediately,” he said.
Dare said drainage and Continuously Reinforced Concrete Pavement works on other sections of the Iddo Bridge project were about 90 per cent complete, expressing confidence that the intervention would be completed within two months.
