Lagos Civil engineer and Senior Research Officer at Africa Environmental & Economic Peace Mission (AEEPM), Dan Ogaga has called on the Federal Controller of Works to conduct another round of checks at all major bridges linking the nation’s seaports in Apapa, Lagos to ascertain their standing and tensile forces.
He said this has become necessary since Apapa had in the last decade, became the leading petroleum products depot from where tankers lift products for distribution to parts of the country due to the collapse of the refineries.
Addressing newsmen at Coconut Bridge Sunday, he said “Because of the heavy loads made up of weighty containers, loaded tankers and regularity of other articulated vehicles plying to and fro the bridges, their tensile forces had been impacted over a period of time”.
“If you recall, sometime last year the federal government closed the Apapa link bridge for repairs and just last week, government announced that the Marine Bridge will be closed from March 4, for similar repairs.
“From what we at AEEPM had observed from this (Coconut) bridge, it is currently in dire need of the level of repairs as the hold force has been impaired.
Ogaga said his team came to the bridge to study the impacts of the recent fire incident that touched a critical portion from the under and we have noticed that the inferno did a dangerous blow to the standing powers of the bridge.
Business Hilights recalls that during a recent fire disaster under the bridge, about 28 vehicles were burnt.
He said AEEPM discovered that the heat from the fire, it was discovered, has weakened the beam, thereby compromising its strength and ability to hold the bridge, which is mostly used by heavy-duty vehicles.
Efforts to get the views of the Controller of Works in Lagos State, Engineer Eke failed at press time.
