The Federal Government Wednesday pledged to commence remediation works on the burnt Lagos Airport link Bridge by the end of March.
Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Works and Housing, Alhaji Babangida Hussaini, disclosed this when he led officials of the ministry to a two-day technical inspection tour of roads and housing projects in Lagos.
The bridge, which crosses the Apapa-Oshodi-Ojota-Oworonshoki Expressway was damaged when a tanker conveying 44,000 litres of diesel, crashed a diesel laden tanker burst into flames in January.
Babangida said the repairs on the bridge, which was closed to traffic shortly after the incident, would alleviate the inconveniences faced by commuters going through the airport road.
“We have just concluded the technical evaluation, we have done the integrity test, what we are doing now is the procurement process,” Hussaini. “I can assure you that the contractor will start work on the bridge by the end of the month because it is an important link road to the airport.”
Hussaini, who said he had the have the permission of the minister of works and housing to inspect the bridge and report back to him for immediate remediation of the damages, described the incident that caused the damage to the bridge as quite worrisome.
He stressed that said tankers carrying combustible materials are always a problem on the highways.
“It is a high time, they began to appreciate the need to be cautious in carrying all these hazardous materials on the highways,” he said.
“You can see the extent of damage on the bridge, and it is not the first time that government would be providing money to repair damaged piers of such burnt bridges,” he said.
On the on-going works on Apapa- Oshodi Expressway, the permanent secretary said the Federal Government decided to opt for concrete payment because of the volume of traffic and cargo that are normally evacuated from the port down to the hinterland.
He said the Federal Government is working with Dangote Group to introduce the new technology as it would be in place for many years.
