FG postpones Third Mainland reopening, faults #EndSARS protests

The Federal Government has said the Third Mainland Bridge would not be opened on Monday as initially planned. The main reason was the #EndSARS protest that took place in October 2020.

The Federal Controller of Works in Lagos, Mr. Olukayode Popoola spoke to our correspondent in a phone interview. He stated that the curfew imposed by the government to end the protests delayed work on the Third Mainland Bridge.

He said, “After the #EndSARS protests there was curfew. During that period, we were supposed to be working. Due to #EndSARS protests, we couldn’t work and due to COVID-19, we couldn’t work.”

Popoola also said that the casting of the last expansion joint would happen between February 19 and 21. He stated that this would require the closing of both lanes to prevent vibration and in order not to cause inconvenience to motorists.

He added that the concrete would require between three to four days to set before the final preparations to finally re-open the entire bridge to road traffic.

Popoola said, “We need to cast the last expansion joint and to do that, we need to close both lanes. That is, total closure, in order to prevent vibration. And we don’t want to cause any inconvenience to the motorists.

“We don’t want to catch them during the week. And after casting, we’ll use like three to four days to do suspension. That’s why we had to postpone it.” He however gave the assurance that the bridge would be opened before the end of February.”