Press Releases

Repair Work On 3rd Mainland Bridge: NGO Calls For Proper Sensitisation

Oct 23, 2009 - A Non-Governmental Organization, the Campaign Against Immunity has described as laudable, the actions taken by the Federal Government two weeks after it raised an alarm over the dilapidated condition of Federal roads in Lagos State, even as it warned that efforts to rehabilitate the Third Mainland Bridge should be properly co-ordinated to avoid creating chaotic traffic situations.

According to a Press Release signed by the NGO’s National Co-ordinator, Mr Shina Loremikan, investigations showed that rehabilitation work has commenced on parts of the Third Mainland Bridge, one of the scores of affected Federal roads across the metropolis.

However, the NGO said it observed that repair work has started causing traffic jam from the West-end of the 11 Kilometre Third Mainland Bridge, from Osborne-Idumagbo-Oworonshoki axis. This development, it said has become a thing of concern to the road users.

Reminding the Federal Government agency Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA), of the efforts put in place last year when similar rehabilitation took place on the bridge, the NGO asked for the involvement of all the stakeholders so as to ensure effective and well planned traffic management during the period.

The organization said FERMA should borrow a leaf from the plans put in place during an exercise to repair defective joints on the Bridge last year which Lagos State Government coordinated. The exercise which took almost two months was executed without any major traffic problem, despite the fears that were initially expressed by the residents, the NGO stated.

“It would be recalled that when there was need to replace the joints on the bridge, Lagos took the bull by the horn by mobilizing all the relevant Federal and State traffic agencies to give the necessary logistics and awareness. The coordinated approach that informed the successful completion of the project”, said Campaign Against Impunity.

The Group called on FERMA, its agency to adopt a similar strategy and create necessary awareness on diversion or partial closures so that the rehabilitation exercise would not create unnecessary hardship for residents.

The Group also called for the extension of the on-going exercise to some other notable areas where the roads have gone totally bad. These include the Apapa-Tin- Can Island, Ikorodu-Agbowa-Epe route and others.