The Federal Government approved a total of N23.33 billion on Wednesday for the surface maintenance of Lagos’s Third Mainland Bridge and for augmenting the contract sum of the old Enugu‑Anambra road project. Minister of Works and Housing Babatunde Fashola briefed State House correspondents after the Federal Executive Council meeting at the Presidential Villa, explaining that the 24‑month repair will cover 11 kilometres of the bridge, including interchanges, ramps and critical links. He noted that the initiative aligns with Executive Order 11, signed by President Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) in April 2022, which provides legal backing for the nation’s maintenance policy.
The announcement came just two weeks after the Lagos State Government said it would rehabilitate the 32‑year‑old bridge to address failed and peeled asphalt sections and substructure problems. Fashola clarified that there will be no duplication of effort: the state’s Public Works Corporation will focus on the bridge’s functional structure—underwater piles, pile caps, expansion joints and bearings—while the federal government will handle surface maintenance, treating potholes and restoring missing guard rails. He said, “Council approved a new contract for the maintenance of the pavement of the Third Mainland Bridge, amounting to N6.28 billion for 24 months. The works concentrate mainly on the bridge’s substructure, the underwater piles, the pile caps and the replacement of the expansion joints and the bearings. These are maintenance works that are critical to the structural integrity of the bridge. What we’re dealing with now is different—it is the driving surface and also the aesthetics. Some of the rails have been stolen, and some of the pleats are misaligned at the routes that lead on and off the bridge.” He added that no prolonged closures are anticipated during the works.
In addition, the Council approved a N17.05 billion variation to the contract for the construction of the old Enugu‑Onitsha road, bringing the project’s total cost to N48.99 billion.
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