Fourth Mainland Bridge coming to offload traffic congestions from existing bridges—Johnson
The Lagos State Government Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, Ganiyu Johnson has revealed that the critical targets of the construction of the new fourth mainland bridge is to remove peak period congestion on the three major bridges linking the mainland and island of the state including Eko, Cater and Third Mainland Bridges.
Explaining more in an interview, the United States trained Civil engineer who has served the state government meritoriously in the sector said the bridge is being designed to come with state-of-the-earth tolling system that will make motoring seamless.
He also noted that apart from creating jobs during and after the construction period, it will trigger off massive opening up of exit point communities in the state including Ikorodu and many parts of Eti-Osa Local Government from where it will begin and terminate on delivery.
He called on Lagosians to support the state Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode in his drive to make Lagos a better place to live and work.
On the impacts of the emerging bridge in terms of houses that will be affected, Johnson said “Using painstaking engineering expertise, government has worked out a means that will only allow for the demolition of about 800 houses in the construction of the new 4th mainland bridge instead of the initial 3000 houses that were earlier said”.
He said the difference of 2,200 houses will be saved from demolition with the new alignment designed for the construction of the proposed 4th Mainland Bridge and the owners of the 800 houses affected will be compensated by the government.
According to the engineering specifications, the new bridge will traverse from Ajah to North West direction towards the lagoon shoreline to Lagos-Ibadan Expressway via Ikorodu. The approximate length of the road/bridge is 37.9km with a design speed of 140km/h.
Lagos State Government has held discussions with so many consultants in furtherance of the project.
Business Hilights recalls that on Wednesday, May 25, 2016, the Lagos State Government sealed the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the construction of the fourth mainland bridge. The signatories to the Memorandum also included a host of finance and construction companies which make up the consortium saddled with the responsibility of bringing the fine model simulations of the long-awaited bridge to life. The ₦844 billion project is expected to take three years to complete.
During the signing, Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, said “the bridge will run through Lekki, Langbasa and Baiyeku towns on the State’s South Western corner, across the Igbogbo river basin, and link up to Itamago in Ikorodu”.
“A connection will also be made with the Ojodu-Berger vicinity by crossing through the Lagos-Shagamu Road, and connecting inward Lagos-Ibadan Expressway. The bridge will be made up of eight interchanges which are designed to aid interconnection between different parts of the state. Apart from serving as a four-lane dual carriageway for vehicular traffic, it will also be able to accommodate pedestrians and cyclists, with its two service areas and additional pedestrian crossings.
Explaining more during the signing ceremony, Ger Hogan, a consultant at Advanced Engineering consultants, pointed out that the stated cost of ₦844 billion covered the three-year construction phase of the project. Additional expense was expected to be incurred over a concession time span of forty years from 2021-2061, with an annual operating cost for that period put at about ₦20 billion. After this, the project is to be handed over to the government.
The consortium of companies involved in the project includes Julius Berger Nigeria plc., Hi-Tech Construction Limited, JP-Morgan, Eldorado Nigeria Limited, Nigerian Westminster Dredging and Marine, Africa Finance Corporation, Access Bank, and Visible Asset Limited, which is to play the role of coordinating firm.
Business Hilights also gathered that the Government of Lagos State Nigeria has started the initial phase of the construction of 4th Mainland Bridge.
