Lagos State Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Wednesday disclosed that parts of Eko bridge closed in the early hours of the day was for safety of the residents and motorists who use the bridge as well as to pave the way for maintenance works to be done on the failed portions.
Governor Sanwo-Olu stated this at the Costain area of Iganmu during an Inspection of the defective portion of the bridge.
A statement by the Governor’s spokesman, Gboyega Akosile, said Sanwo-Olu, who was accompanied to the site by some state government officials and the Federal Controller of Works, Adedamola Kuti, announced that the bridge was partially closed in the early hours of today after he received a report on its condition on the need for a thorough engineering investigation to be conducted, which will ultimately lead to the commencement of repair works.
The Governor said it has become necessary for Government to take precautionary measures, insisting that the Eko bridge and other ones in the state must be repaired. He also assured that the contractors would get to work to see how maintenance could be carried out in the shortest possible time.
While lamenting the manner Lagos bridges have been abused, Governor Sanwo-Olu assured that the State’s Ministry of Transportation will ensure that the traffic rules and principles are followed.
He said: “I want to reiterate, and to assure Lagosians that both Lagos State Government and the Federal Ministry of works will get to work very quickly and we’ll see how quickly we can remedy the current situation.
“These are bridges that are not also made for us to have dead weight on them and what do I mean by dead weight, all the heavy trucks and containers that we parked on them. They are not designed for such usage.
“And so what we will do is to go back with our Ministry of Transportation, and do a full traffic impact assessment. And we will see where we can advise our commuters on how to go about their vehicular movement just as we provide adequate alternatives.”