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Minister of Works, Senator Dave Umahi, has called on the National Assembly to declare a state of emergency on the Third Mainland and Carter Bridges in Lagos State to facilitiate repairs of the bridges.
He said this on the facility tour where members of the National Assembly Joint Committee on Works were on joint oversight functions in Lagos State.
Umahi stressed that urgency and special attention were needed from the lawmakers to arrest the deterioration of the bridges as they needed specialised underwater repairs.
He said “We have critical underwater challenges on the Third Mainland Bridge. The first is the deflection of the slab, which is nothing to worry about as we shall repair it as we did on Eko Bridge, and it will stop deflecting.
“The second one is the deterioration of the piers; the pier caps and the pier cap covers. The contractor is already mobilised about four weeks ago and is working on it. Cost of rehabilitation of the Third Mainland Bridge is estimated at N21 billion,’’ he said.
He stressed that if the rehabilitation of the Third Mainland Bridge was not done speedily, its reconstruction could cost N6tn.
The minister also noted that the Carter Bridge was faced with the same challenges.
“I want the National Assembly to take very special note that this is the worst of the challenges we are having on these two bridges. Cost of rehabilitation of Carter Bridge is N25bn.
“We have mobilised the contractor, Julius Berger Nigeria PLC., with N7 billion for Carter Bridge seven days ago and N6 billion for the Third Mainland Bridge,’’ he said.
