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The Minister of Works, David Umahi, has plans are underway to ensure full security in Lagos state with the installation of closed-circuit television and solar lights on the Third Mainland Bridge by June to check the activities of illegal miners.
Umahi said this after a routine inspection of the under-deck project at Iddo Bridge, Carter Bridge, and the Third Mainland bridges in Lagos.
He said, “On top of the bridges, we have almost finished the deck job, though we are extending the deck job, and then we are also constructing CCTV and observation room. Then, below the deck, we are working on the piers, and then, we now see the pier caps. These are the works that are going on under the deck.”
The minister said that the Federal Government had taken proactive measures to address the condition of the piles supporting the Third Mainland Bridge, adding that erosion and illegal mining had damaged the piles, and a consultant would be contacted on the repairs.
“Like I have always said the piles are being held by the skin friction of the sand, of which some of these sands have been eroded over the years, and illegal mining also contributed to the eroding of the piles.
“Some of the piles have rusted which has gotten to the concrete piles, and some of the reinforcements of the concrete piles are exposed. In 2013, there was an examination of all the piles of the Third Mainland Bridge, in 2014, there was a repeat, but about 40 per cent, and so we are procuring consultants together with Julius Berger to look at what is going on there. In addition, we are working with Berger and other international companies on how to design the remedy."
According to him, the installation of the cameras/solar system will be ready by June 2024.
