The Iyana Oworonshoki-Adeniji Adele section of the Third Mainland Bridge was on Tuesday, January 9, shut down by the federal government for a comprehensive rehabilitation.
The federal comptroller of works for Lagos state, Mrs Olukorede Kesha, supervised the closure to mark the beginning of the rehabilitation and it was also gathered that it was done at the intersection where motorists coming from Ojota link the Third Mainland Bridge on the Island-bound carriageway.
She was accompanied by the Sector Commander, Federal Road Safety Corps, Mr Kayode Farinloye; the Commissioner for Transportation, Oluwaseun Osiyemi; Commissioner of Police, Fayoade Adekoya, and other top officials.
Kesha said the closure of the bridge would be done in two phases daily and traffic diverted to different carriageways at different times. She said this was to give motorists opportunity to use the bridge while the rehabilitation works continued.
She also explained that the Mainland in-bound Lagos Island lane would be open from 12.00 a.m. to noon, while those who intend to come from the Island to the Mainland will use Eko Bridge.
From 12.00 p.m. to midnight, motorists would be able to access the bridge from the Island to the Mainland, while motorists from the Mainland heading towards the Island would have to use Eko or Carter Bridge.
Kesha said the rehabilitation works, which will include replacement of some expansion joints and total replacement of asphalt, would last between six to eight weeks.
The closure is part of the ongoing work that started in November, 2023, focusing on fixing the ramps, and some repairs on the remaining parts of the bridge, including the underdeck and lagoon sections.
She said;
“Motorists from Iyana Oworo, Toll Gate, Ogudu or Ibadan can no longer use this axis (Island Bound carriageway) so they will have to go through Gbagada, Anthony-Ikorodu-Road-Western-Avenue, Funsho Williams to Carter Bridge or Eko Bridge going forward but this is going to be a daily thing.
“So, in the morning, they have the access from 12 midnight to 12 noon the next day while in the afternoon, the Adeniji to Iyana Oworo bound have the free access from 1.00 p.m. thereabout till 12 midnight.”
Keisha who expressed confidence that there would be seamless traffic flow and management because of the collaboration with the traffic and law enforcement heads who would be physically present, appealed to motorists to obey traffic rules and use alternative routes to prevent hardship as comprehensive repairs continued on the highway.
The scope of work would include complete removal and replacement of the asphalt of the deck to the standard two inches to make motoring smoother and safer on the bridge.