Fashola gives update on Third Mainland Bridge closure

On Thursday, the Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, provided the latest update on the closure of the Third Mainland Bridge in Lagos State.

He also thanked the Lagos State Government and residents for their patience during the ongoing repairs of the Third Mainland Bridge.

Fashola while inspecting the bridge also called for more understanding saying that the planned three days total closure was important for completion and delivery of a safe and strong bridge for use, NAN reports.

He said that from midnight of Friday to midnight of Sunday the bridge would be totally shut for important repairs to make the bridge last, but that the former normal diversions would return on Monday when the bridge would be reopened to partial traffic diversion.

According to him, the bridge was one of the 50 nationwide, undergoing repairs in line with the national infrastructure maintenance programme and the national infrastructure renewal and expansion program of the Buhari administration.

“We have seen joints and bearings replaced at different stages. We have seen the ones that are being freshly drilled to be removed and replaced. We have seen the ones that have been replaced and ready to receive concrete.

“We have seen the ones that are being dirt sprayed to clean it up completely to ensure that when the concrete is put, there will be binding. We are now at the last one that has been dirt sprayed and ready to take concrete.

“All the work we have done will not make sense if we don’t pour this concrete and this is why regrettably we have to close this section of the bridge,” he said.

Fashola explained the process of repairs stating that all efforts would be a waste without the most critical stage needing the three days closure for the concrete to properly ‘cure’.

“By Monday the diversions that you are used to will return, our work has not finished, we are going to finish this programme in January next year.

“It is now important to protect the sections that have been finished so that our tolerance, our forbearance would not have been in vain so that when the work is done, we will have almost a new bridge that will last very long, ” he said.