The Federal Government on Tuesday declared that it would soon resume repair works on the 17-kilometre Third Mainland bridge, which provides a direct access for over 50, 000 people daily to the commercial nerve of Lagos.
The government stated this through the Controller, Federal Ministry of Works, Urban and Regional Planning, Tunde Ekunsumi, during the inspection of a project by Moreno-Marinas-Lagoon Plc for the repair of expansion joint on a bridge which linked Ibadan Expressway to the Third Mainland bridge at Ketu-Ogudu-Alapere area.
Declaring that “outstanding works would be done on Third Mainland bridge,” Ekunsumi, who was received by President of Moreno Group, Guiliano Fillepe, and the Executive Director, Public Relations, Logistics and Operations of the company, Rasaq Olokoba, pointed out that Moreno “has done a very good job, which we are satisfied with on the present project.”
He continued: “Lives of thousands of Nigerians were in danger before the commencement of these projects by the Federal Government. Driving on this particular bridge (joint on the Kutu-Ogudu-Alapere bridge) has become unpleasant and live threatening before Moreno started works on it but now, you can all see that this has started to improve.
“The project (joint expansion on the bridge) would last for 30 years after the government takes delivery of it from the company by the end of this month. That is the main reason why we do this, just like what we did to the Third Mainland bridge and I can assure you that works would soon begin on other parts of the bridge,” he emphasised.
Executive Director, Public Relations of Moreno Group, Olokoba, had earlier told journalists that the project would be completed by the end of May.
“The project is about 79 percent completed having worked on it for one month and one week now,” he said, adding that it “remains just three weeks at the end of which we would hand it over to the government. It is pertinent to state here that the joint will last for 30 years before any repair can be done on it again.”