The Federal Government has given an assurance of early completion of repair works on three major Lagos bridges.
The Minister of Works, Mr David Umahi, and the Coordinating Minister of Finance and the Economy, Mr Wale Edun, gave the assurance during an inspection of the lagoon sections of the Third Mainland, Carter and Eko Bridges.
The ministers, alongside contractors and top directors of the Federal Ministry of Works, spent almost two hours in boats navigating under the bridges.
The federal government penultimate week shut down the Lagos Island section of the Third Mainland Bridge for a comprehensive repair of the bridge which is the longest bridge connecting the Lagos Mainland to the Island.
After inspecting the lagoon sections, the ministers went on land to inspect the under deck of Carter Bridge and Ijora section of Eko Bridge.
They later inspected the Lagos Ibadan Expressway and the ongoing rehabilitation of the flyover at Lotto Junction.
Speaking with journalists, Umahi said the joint assessment was for his Finance and Economy counterpart to have firsthand knowledge of the projects and cost implications.
Umahi said President Bola Tinubu had approved funds for comprehensive works on the two carriageways of the third Mainland Bridge.
Umahi expressed satisfaction with the ongoing repair works on the top deck of the Third Mainland Bridge, and said the repair would be completed and the bridge reopened to traffic by April.
“It is going to be a classic reinstated bridge by the time we finish,” he said.
He said contractors would begin work on the underdeck and lagoon sections of the Third Mainland and Carter Bridges next week.
He added that advertisement for bids for facilities on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway were also set to begin within a week.
The Minister also stressed the commitment of the federal government to protect the Lagos shorelines.
According to him, fixing the shorelines is critical to avert danger posed by erosion to major infrastructures in the state.
He noted that the degeneration of the Marina shorelines poses an impending disaster as the damage was threatening the pillars of the Lagos Blue Rail Line.
On his part, Edun expressed satisfaction with the designs, implementation and costs of the projects.
Edun assured of adequate funding of all infrastructure in line with the core agenda of the President Bola Tinubu to further grow the nation’s economy.
He said the federal government was working towards achieving a 77 per cent increase in its internally generated revenue to boost the economy and fund critical infrastructure across the nation.