LASG TO DIVERT TRAFFIC AT MARINE BRIDGE FOR EMERGENCY REPAIRS
The Lagos State Government will divert traffic at Marine Bridge as the Federal Government commences emergency repair works on different sections of the bridge from tomorrow, Wednesday, 29th of September till Thursday, 23rd of December, 2021.
The Commissioner for Transportation, Dr. Frederic Oladeinde, who disclosed this in a statement issued on Tuesday, explained that the repairs will be done in phases for minimal inconvenience to motorists, adding that the Ijora-bound lane will be closed to vehicular movement during the first phase, while the Apapa-bound lane would be subsequently shut for the second phase.
Speaking on the traffic diversion plan, the Commissioner revealed that motorists heading towards the Ijora axis will be diverted into a counter-flow on the Apapa-bound lane and vice versa when the Apapa-bound lane is closed for repairs, to reduce traffic gridlock during the course of the project.
Oladeinde further stated that the officers of the State’s Traffic Management Agency, LASTMA, would direct traffic, in addition to strategically placed traffic signs on the routes, to guide vehicular movement during the stipulated period.
The Commissioner solicited the cooperation of residents and road-users towards the successful commencement and completion of the emergency works, reiterating the present administration’s commitment to the development of transport infrastructure across the metropolis.
SANWO-OLU: ATTACKERS OF SECURITY AGENTS WILL FACE JUSTICE
The government of Lagos State has noted with deep concern attacks on law enforcement agents by hoodlums. Such senseless attacks are attempts to trample on law and order by those who are desperate to turn our society upside down. This will not be allowed to happen.
In the latest of such attacks, a Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP), Kazeem Abonde, was killed on September 23, 2021 in Ajao Estate by yet unknown hoodlums. I have directed the Commissioner of Police to ensure that all those who participated in this savagery are brought to justice. This is to encourage our law enforcement agents that we will always stand by them as they carry out their duties and, at the same time, send a strong signal to criminals that any attack on our officers will not go unpunished.
Such display of savagery as the one in which CSP Abonde died will not be allowed in our state, no matter the circumstances. The law is there for us all, should there be need to redress any perceived wrongdoing. Citizens who take the law into their own hands are promoters of jungle justice, which will not be allowed to take root in our dear Lagos.
I commiserate with the family of the fallen officer and the Police Command on the loss of this fine officer whose diligence and bravery have been applauded by his colleagues and relations. May The Almighty bless his soul.
naptu2: You have got things mixed up. You are mixing up two separate roads.
The Coastal Road runs from the Water Corporation axis, past Abraham Adesanya and all the way to the Lekki Free Trade Zone. This is on the ocean side (beside the Atlantic Ocean).
The other road that you've got mixed up is the Regional Road. The Regional Road is different from the Coastal Road. The Regional Road is close to the Lagos Lagoon, while the Coastal Road is close to the Atlantic Ocean. It is the Regional Road that begins at VGC and ends at Freedom Way.
SarkinYarki: This is what I have been shouting for 7 years and Lagos govt is just seeing it now ..Lagos need a super high way hugging it's entire coast line and not all these poorly thought out traffic light systems that worsened the driving experience on Lekki Epe ...And another thing is to make sure Hi tech doesn't handle a project of that magnitude
naptu2: The Coastal Road is not a new development. It has been on the masterplan since at least the Jakande era. Jakande was removed from office before he could build it. Governor Rasaki said that he was surprised to see it on the masterplan and that it's not just a Lagos Coastal Road, but that there's actually a plan to build a coastal road all the way to Calabar. He said that he began planning to build it, but he was removed from office before he could build it.
The Tinubu Administration promised to build it but never did.
There were protests when tolling began on the Lekki Expressway because some people believed that the government should build the coastal road before tolling the expressway (so that the coastal road would be an alternative).
The Ambode Administration promised to build it and former governor Rasaki praised him for that.
However, because it has not been built and the land has remained empty, a lot of squatters, mainly artisans, okada riders and traders, have taken over the land.
naptu2: The Lekki Coastal Road and the Lekki Regional Road are two roads that have been designed to decongest the Lekki-Epe Expressway.
The Lekki Coastal Road has been on the masterplan for decades. It is meant to be on the ocean side of Lekki. In 2011, some of the people that protested against the tolling of the Lekki-Epe Expressway demanded that the Coastal Road should be built before the expressway is tolled. However, despite the fact that the place had been demarcated, nothing was done on the land and it was taken over by mechanics and other squatters (one of my mechanics had his garage on that site until he was evicted last year). The government has now decided to build the road and it has been evicting the illegal squatters for the past few months. The Lekki Coastal Road is meant to run from the Oniru/Victoria Island axis to the Lekki Free Trade Zone.
The Lekki Regional Road is being built on the Lagoon Side of Lekki. Part of the road will be made up of bridges on the Lagoon. It will connect VGC to Freedom Way in Lekki Phase 1.
Picture 1 below = The area that is meant to be the Coastal Road. Picture 2 below = The Lekki Regional Road
The Lagos State Government, still in pursuit of a greater Lagos, has commenced work on the 8.7 km Lekki Regional Road comprising a 500 metres bridge, 251 metres interchange, 50 metres bicycles lane and an adjoining 500 metres road which will help in decongesting traffic within the Lekki Sub-region
CONSTRUCTION OF REGIONAL ROAD WILL EASE TRAFFIC ON LEKKI-AJAH AXIS - LASG
… Says Fourth Mainland Bridge to Commence in First Quarter of Y2022
The Lagos State Government has said that the Lekki Regional Road Project will decongest traffic within the Lekki subregion as it will create access to VGC, Ikate Elegushi, Ikota, Chevron Drive, Ajiran, Pinnock Beach Estate, Gracefield Island and Orange Island while serving as an alternative to the Eti-Osa-Epe Expressway.
The Special Adviser to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Works and Infrastructure, Mrs. Aramide Adeyoye, who disclosed this during a recent inspection tour of the project, said that Lekki Subregion is the new economic centre of Lagos with huge amounts already invested in the Lekki Free Trade Zone, Lekki Ports, Dangote Petrochemical Plant, Lekki Airports as well as other industrial and commercial developments.
She said that the 8.75-kilometre road, comprising of a 500-metre bridge, 251-metre interchange, 50-metre bicycle lane and an adjoining 500-metre road is being handled by Messrs Hitech Construction Company Ltd, adding that the road, presently at 23.56 per cent completion, will link Lekki-Epe Expressway at Victoria Garden City (VGC) junction to the Freedom Way in Eti-Osa to resolve gridlock on the axis.
According to the Special Adviser, “The contractors are on-site and they have done a lot of work behind the scene, pilling works for the pedestrian bridges are completed and the bridges are already in place while a lot of sand filling dredging on the road alignment has also been achieved".
Mrs. Adeyoye said several large pilling rings are ready and the pile reinforcement cages to be used in the foundation works for the bridge signals the earnest commencement of the bridge components of the project, adding that the project is a precursor to the proposed Fourth Mainland Bridge whose construction will begin in the first quarter of 2022.
Noting that the project will further open up the Lekki area to serve as an alternative route and link to several communities and industrial areas, the Special Adviser stressed that the Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s administration is committed to massive infrastructure delivery in addition to the several roads and bridges already completed by the State government.
“With roads, bridges, you can’t lie, it's either you do them or you don’t do them because these are things that people feel directly. And I want the citizens to believe in us; we told you we that will conclude and finish up with Pen Cinema Bridge, we have done that. We also told you that before the end of this administration, we would actually move on with the Fourth Mainland Bridge and I just want you to believe that. We told you we will give an alternative to the Lekki Epe Expressway, which is exactly what we are doing”, she said.
Also speaking during the tour, Mr. Danny Abboud, Managing Director, Hitech Construction Company Ltd, said that the firm has been working round the clock since moving to site in order to deliver the project on schedule.
He explained that sand was being dredged directly from the Lagos Lagoon to ease construction works on the Lekki Regional Road, which spans from Victoria Garden City to connect Freedom Way at Lekki Scheme.
The project is scheduled for completion in June 2022.
Picture 1) President Nnamdi Azikiwe and Mrs Flora Azikiwe reviewing the crowd at Race Course, Lagos.
Picture 2) US President Jimmy Carter and Colonel Mohammed Magoro inspecting facilities at the Tin Can Island Port. They are on General Olusegun Obasanjo's Land Rover review vehicle
Picture 3) President Olusegun Obasanjo and Vice President Atiku Abubakar review the crowd at Eagle Square in a Mercedes G Class review vehicle.
Picture 4) President Goodluck Jonathan reviews the audience at Eagle Square.
I forgot to write about the Puch on that thread about presidential vehicles.
The Obasanjo and Shagari administrations had deals with Steyr for the production of vehicles. This was the era when the Federal Government, in partnership with European car makers and Nigerian state governments, was establishing automobile plants all over the country. The Steyr assembly plant was established in Bauchi. It produced tractors for farmers and vehicles for the military. In fact, its main purpose was to produce military vehicles.
The Nigerian government bought a lot of vehicles from Steyr at this time. The most famous of them was the Pinzgauer. The Pinzgauer is an infantry mobility vehicle and it was used as a troop carrier, ambulance and staff vehicle by the police (mainly the Mobile Police) and the military.
Another vehicle that was bought by the government was the G-Wagen. These were not Mercedes Benz G-Wagens, though it was basically the same vehicle.
Mercedes Benz got the idea to build an SUV from one of their Arab customers/shareholders who thought that the vehicle would be popular in the Middle East and that it could also be used by armed forces around the world. The Mercedes Benz G-Wagen was launched in 1979, but it was not built by Mercedes Benz, rather it was built by Steyr for Mercedes Benz. Steyr-Magna-Puch and Daimler Benz (the owners of Mercedes Benz) had very close links at that time and Steyr was also known as Steyr-Daimler-Puch.
As part of the deal between the Nigerian Government and Steyr, several Puch G-Wagens were supplied to the Presidential Ground Fleet and to CVU. However, I never saw President Shagari use the SUVs. There were a lot of black or brown Puch G-Wagens at CVU and the Ground Fleet, but they were mainly used when Nigeria hosted international conferences. These vehicles had the Puch badge on them, rather than the Mercedes Benz three-pointed star.
Shepherds The first time that I saw a Nigerian president use the vehicles in any significant way was in 1990, when they were used as shepherds in President Babangida's motorcade.
Previously, four Peugeot 504 cars from the NSO/SSS surrounded the state car in a motorcade. However, in 1990, they began using 4 Puch G-Wagens to shepherd the president's vehicle. You'd see the Mercedes 600 and it would be surrounded by 4 G-Wagen SUVs.
By 1992 they had started using Land Rover Discovery SUVs as shepherds and between 1992 and 2007 Land Rover Discovery and Land Cruiser Prado SUVs were used as shepherds. This was changed during the Yar'Adua era as the old W140 S Class cars that were used by President Obasanjo were used to shepherd President Yar'Adua's W221 S Class state car. Since then, the previous S Class vehicles have been used to shepherd the president's car.
Review vehicle
However, there was a G-Wagen that was actually used by the president. It was used as a review vehicle.
We've all watched national military parades on Independence Day, inauguration ceremonies and on Democracy Day. After receiving the salute, the president or governor usually goes to inspect the troops then he gets on an open top SUV and reviews the school children or greets the crowd. That open top SUV is called the review vehicle.
Nigerian heads of state previously used Land Rover Series SUVs as review vehicles, but that was changed during the Shagari era. President Shagari began the practice of using Mercedes Benz G-Wagen SUVs as review vehicles and the practice has continued since then, except for a brief period during the Abacha era when Tata SUVs were used. State governors still use Land Rover Series or Land Rover Defender SUVs.
(President Shagari made a lot of changes at the Presidency. Nigerian leaders previously used Nigeria Airways planes for their trips, but President Shagari's Administration bought a presidential jet and it was given to the Nigeria Air Force and this was the origin of the idea of having a Presidential Air Fleet).
Picture 1) The Puch logo.
Picture 2) An old Puch G Wagen.
Picture 3) A 1993 Puch G 500
Picture 4) Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles in a Land Rover review vehicle at the Race Course, Lagos. The person in the front passenger seat is JTU Aguiyi-Ironsi, who would later become head of state of Nigeria.
Politics › Re: Wike & Akpabio Banter At The Commissioning Of Police Barracks In Rivers by naptu2: 8:31am On Sep 29, 2021
