http://www.godgobless.com/2018/08/third-mainland-bridge-day-1-we-feel.html

..Apapa gridlock, Carter, Eko, other bridges to undergo integrity test soon
..Senator says repairs long overdue, gears toward Nigerians’ interest
..As mixed feelings greet closure

By Olasunkanmi Akoni and Monsuru Olowoopejo

The Lagos State Government has reassured residents and motorists of seamless traffic movement during the three-day closure of Third Mainland Bridge for investigative maintenance test, which commenced Thursday and expected to end midnight tomorrow, Sunday, August 26th.



Akinwunmi Ambode
The state government also disclosed that following persistent indiscriminate parking of articulated trucks, particularly on Eko and Carter Bridges, plans were on to subject both bridges and others to integrity test, specifically to ascertain their durability in years to come. The state Government stressed that the test would be conducted on the facilities after the articulated trucks that have converted them to parking lot would have been evacuated in few weeks.

State’s Commissioner for Transport, Mr. Ladi Lawanson, made the remarks, yesterday, at a press briefing on the update of the closure of Third Mainland Bridge, in Alausa, Ikeja.

Allays fears of

gridlock

Lawanson assured commuters and motorists that efforts had been geared towards ensuring a free flow of traffic during the three-day closure of the bridge for integrity test.

While apologizing for any inconvenience the closure and present arrangement might have caused commuters, he promised that government would make movement as smooth as possible.

“We want to commend the behaviour and disposition of residents in the first day of the closure. We want to implore them to continue to be calm and comply with all traffic rules throughout the closure as we feel your pain and the inconvenience this might caused the general public.” The commissioner added that over 800 traffic personnel had been deployed to alternative routes provided during the duration of the closure to reduce travel time in the state.

Gridlock on bridges

Lawason said:”The state government is working very hard and in few weeks time we are going to get all the tankers off the road and once we do that the other bridges are going to be tested especially, haven carried such an amount of dead loads for so long.

“Clearly for any observer, considering the amount of load these bridges have been subjected to lately, they don’t need a post graduate degree in engineering to know that some kind of audit needed to be done on those bridges,” he added.

The commissioner noted that the pressures on the bridges, including Third Mainland Bridge, have made it mandatory that other mode of transportation should be boosted to relieve the roads and bridges of the pressures.

Lawanson disclosed that during interaction with engineers, it indicated that the state does no need multiple bridges to solve it’s gridlock challenges, saying, “engaging in such is spreading the gridlock across the state.

“The sustainable solution is to increase efficiency on other mode of transportation that we have especially within the constraint of the land areas that we have and other sources of transportation speaking specifically of water transportation. We are in different stages of engagement in terms of this other mode of transportation.

“The government understands that because of the peculiarity of the challenges that we face we need to be more innovative about the solution we proffer to address the challenges.

“For instance, we have limited space and there is little we can do about bridges and roads, even the rail there is rarely so much we can do without having to pull down some major properties. When we have other innovative potential solutions like mini-rail.” According to him, the result of the integrity test would determine what actions would follow and which would be addressed by the Federal Ministry of Works.

Lawason said the integrity test on the bridge was imperative and a standard practice all over the world to ensure safety of road users and also not to increase hardship being experienced by commuters.

Also, speaking on the development, the Senator, representing Lagos East Senatorial District, Gbenga Ashafa, described the exercise as a “necessary inconvenience and a little sacrifice” that was long overdue for the interest of Nigerians and the general public. Ashafa traced the history of the repairs of the bridge back to 2013 when he raised a motion on the floor of the Senate calling for the Federal Government to rehabilitate the 28-year-old bridge.

The statement reads as follows: “On 7th February 2013, I moved a motion calling on the Federal Government to immediately conduct a comprehensive rehabilitation of the 3rd Mainland Bridge. This was borne out of an independent assessment showed that substantial portions of the bridge had began to fail.

“Following, this motion, the Government has committed itself to necessary periodic repairs to ensure that the bridge is safe and strong to carry the weight of thousand of vehicles that ply the road daily. Once again, the Government has scheduled a closure of the bridge for a pre-maintenance assessment between the 23rd and 26th of August, 2018.”

“I am fully aware of the inconvenience that the closure of this critical infrastructure will cause all of us. However, we must see it as a necessary inconvenience and a little sacrifice we must all pay for the safety of the millions of Nigerians and other lives that ply the 3rd Mainland bridge.

“The Government of Lagos State in conjunction with the Federal Ministry of Power Works and Housing have put in place palliative measures to ensure that this period of closure is as seamless as possible for all all Lagosians. I therefore urge you all to cooperate with the government and observe the travel advisory as released by the Lagos State Government in the next few days.”

Mixed feelings

Meantime, there were divergent views from motorists over the closure of the bridge. While some applauded the state government for a good traffic management, others felt government should have done more to reduce the pressure on residents by limiting the test to just a side of the bridge andcartied out during midnight alone, as it is being practiced in advanced countries.

According to a motorist, Mr. Jude Anthony, “Apart from the early morning rush with attendant gridlock, the road later in the noon was better to commune due to proper traffic management by the team of traffic personnel deployed but they can do better in the coming days..”

Meantime, Mrs. Abimbola Akinola, a motorist, blasted governments for subjecting residents to unnecessary hardship.

“It’s due to government’s long negligence

on maintenance culture that caused thisavoidable torture on residents. If both Federal and state governments have been carrying out regular tests before now, there would have been no need for this long days of closure. To me, its absolutely, unnecessary. “Anyway, we can’t do anything about it, we just want to implore them (governments) to keep to date and ensure no extension as it could result in dire consequences on residents,” she said.

LASTMA assures

However, Lagos State Traffic Management Authority, LASTMA, General Manager, Olawale Musa, said in view of the strategic importance of the bridge to the economy of Lagos and Nigeria in general, the operation to control traffic during the closure would be treated as a major national assignment and a call to service.

According to him: “As a professional agency with requisite personnel and experience, I want to assure Lagosians that we would do everything to make sure that motorists and commuters are not subjected to any discomfort during the exercise.

“Our traffic officers have been adequately mandated to make sacrifices, demonstrate discipline and professionalism on all the alternative routes during the period of the closure of the Third Mainland Bridge.

“As officers of this agency, you must be passionate and show compassion to motorists, especially those who are not familiar with the alternative routes and other roads in the metropolis,” Musa charged the officers.

While urging motorists and commuters to be patient and cooperative to ensure free flow of traffic on all alternative routes during the closure, the LASTMA boss said it was important for the public to strictly adhere to traffic rules and directives to ensure hitch-free exercise in the overall interest of all stakeholders.

“Already, we have mobilized six hundred and fifty (650) personnel with enough materials and other logistics to ensure free flow of traffic around the period. What we want from the public is strict adherence to traffic rules.

“Specifically, I like to plead with motorists to exercise patience on alternative routes and comply with traffic laws and directives of traffic officials,” Musa said.

He, however, advised motorists without urgent need to move to and fro the Island to avoid the alternative routes in view of the attendant traffic gridlock being anticipated.

Travel advice

The travel advice to motorists from Lagos Abeokuta, Agege, Ogba, Ikeja is to ply Oshodi via Mushin Ojuelegba to connect Carter Bridge into Island, while those from Ikorodu, Maryland to make use of Funsho Williams Avenue, formerly, Western Avenue via Yaba to Oyinbo and connect Eko Bridge into Island.

Motorists from Okokomaiko, Festac, Oshodi-Apapa Expressway are enjoined to ply through Ajegunle via Marine Bridge to Ijora to connect Carter Bridge to Apongbon into Lagos Island.

Conversely, motorists from the Island are expected to ply Eko Bridge and Carter Bridge into Mainland, while those in Lekki Ajah can also ply Epe axis through Imota into Ikorudu.

Source:http://www.godgobless.com/2018/08/third-mainland-bridge-day-1-we-feel.html

Lalasticlala
FynestBoi
Mynd44
Seun
Thegeneralqueen

Useless country, money way you take they build terminals everywhere go reach build two more mainland bridge but they refused.

You don't feel any of our pain (Lagosians)


If you'd feel it why didn't you do it during the Wednesday, Thursday public holiday then complete it during weekend



You're not being considerate here.