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By Maduka Nweke
The Federal Government has said that plans are underway to reset damaged sections of the Iddo Bridge in Lagos, as preparatory work begins for a full reconstruction of the ageing structure. Following questions during the inspection of the bridge by the Minister of Works, David Umahi, the Regional Manager of Julius Berger Nigeria, Mr. Thomas Christl, explained to the Minister that three spans of the bridge have suffered extensive damage and must be replaced to restore structural integrity.
Mr. Christl noted that the reconstruction process, scheduled to begin next week, would be carried out in phases to minimise traffic disruption. “What we are doing at the moment is that we are separating the two lanes; the two directions and next week we will shift the traffic in one direction and one half of the bridge will be demolished and rebuilt,” Christl stated.
According to him, once work on the first section is completed, traffic will be redirected to the rebuilt portion while the second half undergoes demolition and reconstruction. “When this is done, by the end of March, most likely, we will shift the traffic on the new side of the bridge and demolish this side of the bridge and rebuild this bridge,” he noted.
The Julius Berger manager further revealed that work was also ongoing on the bridge’s underpass and drainage system. “We have already started with the drainage works, the outfall to the lagoon is already done. After the drainage works, we will remove the soil and lower the road level so that we have a higher clearance for the bridge so that no trucks can crash into the bridge anymore which was a main reason for the damages on the existing one,” he said.
Speaking on the condition of the bridge, the Minister attributed the damage partly to a fire outbreak caused by illegal occupants under the structure. He said the blaze affected multiple sections of the bridge. “Six spans are affected and what we have done is to re-asphalt one of the carriageways so that we drive that traffic totally over there and then remove the three spans of one carriageway. Then we can divert the traffic back and demolish the second carriageway,” he explained.
The reconstruction project, estimated to cost N15 billion according to Umahi, is expected to be completed by June. “Part of the problem is that the headroom is about 4.5 metres high but the minimum should be 5.6 metres high; so, we are trying to achieve that minimum headroom. They have also built a bypass route over there. Julius Berger is doing well. I hope they don’t delay the job. I am directing the engineer to monitor them and report back to us to ensure that this is completed as scheduled – June,” he assured. He added that progress had already been made on improving the clearance and replacing damaged sections.
The Minister also assured that, upon completion of the repairs, the Federal Government would install closed-circuit television cameras beneath and on top of the bridge to enhance security, similar to measures taken on the Third Mainland Bridge.
