FG Suspends Planned Closure Of Lagos’ Eko Bridge

FG Suspends Planned Closure Of Lagos’ Eko Bridge
Umahi says crack on bridge currently shows no dangerous progression
Federal Government to begin four-month remedial repair works soon

The Federal Government has suspended its earlier plan to shut down the Eko Bridge in Lagos State following a fresh technical assessment of the structure.

Minister of Works, Senator Dave Umahi, disclosed this on Monday during an inspection of the bridge, explaining that the decision was influenced by concerns over the hardship a closure could cause Lagos residents and motorists.

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Umahi said the bridge had initially been marked for closure about two weeks ago due to structural concerns, but President Bola Tinubu directed the ministry to carry out another review before implementing the decision.

“We directed that this bridge be closed. That was about two weeks back, but our caring President Bola Tinubu is very much concerned about the closure of this Eko Bridge.

“He has asked me to come back here and take a second look at that decision so that we don’t induce much hardship on Nigerians,” Umahi said.

According to the minister, engineers conducted another technical evaluation on Monday and concluded that the bridge could remain open for now while authorities continue monitoring the condition of the affected section.

He stressed that safety remained the government’s top priority.

“We have done our technical evaluation in line with the President’s directive. Putting safety over and above every decision, we have seen that, for now, we are safe, but we won’t get to a situation where any Nigerian on this bridge will not be safe. We have agreed on three procedures,” he stated.

Umahi explained that the first measure would involve continuous monitoring of the crack discovered on the bridge.

He noted that the crack had not shown any signs of expansion so far.

“No progression so far. We are comfortable, but a crack can occur anytime. I will return here to reassess it,” he added.

The minister also announced that remedial works would commence on the bridge and are expected to last about four months.

According to him, the repairs would include additional piling and reinforcement works to stabilise the affected section before a larger reconstruction process begins.

“We have agreed on remedial work that could be carried out within four months by Buildwell, and that is by doing additional piling and a pie cap and joining it to the cracked one to bypass the section that is cracked.

“That can lead us to open the entire bridge and when that is done, we will wait for the entire design whereby the entire slab within that section will be lifted and then we will demolish what was cracked,” Umahi explained.