The Federal Government has set a new 24-month timeline for the completion of the reconstruction of Lagos’ Carter Bridge, down from the initially slated 36 months. Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, disclosed this on Monday during an inspection of the ongoing reconstruction of the Carter and Iddo Bridges in Lagos.
Umahi was accompanied by the Minister of State for Works, Mohammed Goronyo, and members of the National Assembly, including the Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Works, Akin Alabi. The minister said the decision to accelerate the project was driven by the strategic importance of Carter Bridge to vehicular movement in Lagos. The 1.58-kilometre bridge has been in service for more than six decades with inadequate maintenance, resulting in significant structural deterioration, he said.
“Carter Bridge has stayed for over 60 to 70 years with no maintenance. “The lifespan of every bridge is about 50 years, and what we found out from the underwater survey is that a lot of the piles had detached from the pile caps. “It is like having the leg removed from the hip. There was also a lot of rust within the piles, while scouring and illegal sand mining contributed to the failure of the bridge,” Umahi said. He said a new design had been completed for the reconstruction, incorporating engineering features intended to improve traffic flow and protect the bridge from future deterioration.
According to the minister, the redesigned bridge will feature additional ramps to ease congestion, while one carriageway will be constructed above the other. A cable-stayed section will also be incorporated to provide sufficient clearance for navigation. “Carter Bridge is 1.58km but you are going to see aesthetics, engineering and innovation.
“We are going to be flying one carriageway over the other, increasing the number of ramps to decongest traffic towards the ramp sections. “We are also having a cable bridge to contain the 105 spans for navigational activities. It is going to be beautiful,” Umahi said.
