3rd Mainland Bridge for temporary closure from August 23

The Lagos State Government has said that the Third Mainland Bridge will be temporarily closed for four days starting from midnight of August 23 to midnight of August 26, 2018, in order to carry out Investigative Maintenance Test on the bridge.

The State’s Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, Mr. Ade Akinsanya, who disclosed this in a statement at the weekend, said the decision was taken after due consultation with the Federal Ministry of Power, Works, and Housing.

The four-day closure, according to Akinsanya, will enable the contractors to assess the true state of the bridge after which works would commence by the end of the year or early in 2019.

Recall that the Federal Government had earlier announced plans to shut the bridge in July, but had to shelve the decision after due consultation with the State Government and wide deliberations with other stakeholders who expressed concern about the indiscriminate parking of articulated vehicles on other alternative routes which would have adversely affected traffic.

Subsequently, a Joint Task Force set up to remove the articulated vehicles from the highways was able to achieve tremendous success.

Justifying the need for the closure, Akinsanya said: “The 3rd Mainland Bridge which was opened about 30 years ago by the then military government has had haphazard maintenance and repairs in the past which the present Federal Government is committed to correct by carrying out proper and continuous maintenance and repairs on it.”

Consequently, the State Government appealed for the cooperation, support, and understanding of all motorists and residents, advising them to minimize non-essential travel and movements during the four-day closure.

Besides, Akinsanya said all traffic management agencies including the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) and the Police, among others, have been mandated to ensure a smooth and uninterrupted flow of traffic on all the other alternative roads and traffic corridors across the metropolis during the closure.