News - State of Third Mainland, Niger bridges worries Senate

[TGD]

 THE sorry state of Third Mainland and Niger bridges in Lagos and Anambra States was the focus of debates at the Senate Thursday, with the chamber mandating its Committee on Works to liaise with the Federal Ministry of Works to find urgent solution to their decay.

Under the motion titled: "Immediate Action on the Second Niger Bridge Project", Senator Hope Uzodimma (Imo West) drew the attention of the lawmakers to River Niger Bridge, saying that the bridge and some others in the country "are in horrifying states of decay with imminent threat of collapse".

He stressed that due to the deplorable conditions of the Niger Bridge, in particular, commuters have been subjected to agonising ordeals because commuters who feared its collapse are using only one lane.

According to Uzodimma, the situation made Federal Government in the past contemplate constructing a second bridge to accommodate the increasing vehicular traffic. He, however, expressed regrets that the project had been abandoned and sought the support of the Senate to draw attention of relevant government agencies to the situation. He prayed the chamber to advise the Federal Government to commence action on the second Niger Bridge.

Describing the condition of the bridge "as a sad story", Senator Chris Ngige (Anambra Central) said the people of the South who use the bridge have been forced to seek alternative routes with the attendant inconveniences. He recalled that the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo did a groundbreaking ceremony of the second Niger Bridge only for work on the project abandoned.

He suggested that the committee on works investigate the matter and report to the chamber.

Senator Andy Uba (Anambra South) said the problem was the nature of project, which was Private Public Partnership (PPP).

Senator Abdullahi Adamu (Nasarawa West) said the first Niger Bridge should be fixed before embarking on the second bridge. According to him, project abandonment was a recurring decimal in the country.

On the Lagos Third Mainland Bridge, Senator Gbenga Ashafa (Lagos East), who said the bridge, commissioned by former military president, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida in 1990, produces frightening vibrations and a report produced by some experts indicated that the underwater metal casing housing the concrete piles have decayed, expressed worry that there have been incessant complaints of shifting and unusual vibrations on the bridge by commuters plying the bridge for quite some time.

He added that Prof. J.H.T. Kim, head of the Concrete Structural Engineering Laboratory, Yousei University, Seoul, Korea, did a test and confirmed the decay.

"The collapse of the bridge could lead to a huge loss of lives and worsen the traffic situation in Lagos, the commercial hub of Nigeria", he submitted. He urged the chamber to investigate the matter and report back to the Senate.

Senator Oluremi Tinubu noted that though some repairs had been done, there was still need to carry out a thorough job, stressing: "What is worth doing is worth doing well".

Senator Sola Adeyeye (Osun Central) said great societies are defined by their ability to rise to challenges and urged the chamber to rise to the present challenge. "We are about allowing what the military built to be destroyed", he stated.

Senate President  David Mark, agreed with the senators that there was need for urgent interventions in the cases brought before the chamber.

"Let's find solution so that the bridge does not collapse. There is need for the bridges to be repaired, and urgently too," he said.

We want to avert their collapse and we must do all that is necessary. The works committee should go to the Ministry of Works and find out what immediate solution could be proffered", he said. He put the questions to the House and the motions were carried.



The Guardian