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Posted On 5 August 2020
Lagos, Aug 5, 2020 – Monster traffic jams are nothing new for Lagos, but the partial closure of the city’s main bridge for repairs has made getting about an even greater ordeal for its 20 million inhabitants. The on-ramp to the Third Mainland Bridge has become the most coveted piece of real estate in Africa’s biggest city — at rush hour, it turns into a chokepoint that saps energy, frays nerves and drives up costs. Cyril Oyenuga is clearly exhausted as he lifts a small towel wedged into the window to protect him from the sun. “Yesterday I spent five hours in traffic jams. It’s very tiring,” he said. “But I don’t have a choice. I have to work.”
The Third Mainland is Africa’s second-largest bridge, extending nearly 12 kilometres (7.5 miles) to link Lagos Island, the business heart of the city, with the mainland where most people live. When it was built in 1990, Nigeria’s economic engine had just six million residents. Today, its population has more than tripled and the bridge is saturated, with tens of thousands of vehicles crossing each day. Rumours about its safety and lack of maintenance have long been part of Lagos folklore, although the authorities steadfastly denied there was any risk. But this year, with traffic somewhat thinner due to the coronavirus pandemic, the government made a surprise announcement: it would partially close the bridge for six months to carry out repairs and prevent its “total collapse”.
Lack of alternatives
“If there had been another solution, we would have taken it,” said Works and Housing Minister Babatunde Fashola. Fashola, previously the governor of Lagos State, urged city residents to cooperate and take alternative routes. But many say the bridge is all they have. The other two bridges to Lagos Island cannot absorb the extra traffic, especially as one is also partially closed for repairs. The huge dependence on a 30-year-old structure crystallises Lagos’s chronic traffic problems. A string of grand schemes to improve public transport have been unveiled in recent years, only to gather dust on urban planners’ shelves.
A case in point is the light rail project that was supposed to relieve pressure on the bridges. After years of delays, work on the project appears to have halted completely. Ferries are an obvious option, but a lack of infrastructure and safety worries complicate their development. For Lagos residents forced to endure hours of traffic jams the work on the Third Mainland is proving to be a trying affair. It now takes Kayode Lawson more than two hours to get to work when it would normally take him 40 minutes in a shared taxi. His commute is not only much longer, but much more expensive. “The prices have already gone up due to social distancing rules limiting the number of passengers on the bus,” the intern told AFP. A trip that cost him 100 nairas (26 US cents) before the crisis is now more than double that during rush hour.
Loss of productivity
An added headache is a 10pm curfew imposed in Lagos to slow the spread of the coronavirus. People can find themselves blocked for the night or having to risk dealing with police. “We have to leave for the office even earlier to have a chance to make it home in time,” said Richard, a marketing representative seated in the front of a minibus hired by his employers. Economist Bismarck Rewane estimates the bridge’s partial closure will cost more than $1 billion per month in lost productivity. Nigeria’s economy has already been sagging with the direct costs of the coronavirus pandemic and its indirect impact — a plunge in global oil prices that is hitting its main source of income. The IMF expects Nigeria’s economy to contract by at least 3.4 percent this year.
On the other hand, Rewane noted, the pain would have been only greater if the work had been put off. “It is better to have carried out work now when many companies are remote working, schools and churches are closed and when the economy is going slowly than in six months when the cost would have been extremely prohibitive,” he said.
By Liza Fabban, AFP
Third Mainland Bridge is the longest of three bridges connecting to the , the others are the and bridges. It was the longest bridge in Africa until 1996 when the located in was completed. The bridge starts from Oworonshoki which is linked to the and , and ends at the Adeniji Adele Interchange on Lagos Island. There is also a link midway through the bridge that leads to Herbert Macaulay Way, . The bridge was built by . The phase one of the project was commissioned by President (1925–2018) in 1980 and completed by President in 1990; it measures about 11.8 km in length.
By 2006, many commuters had reported that the Third Mainland Bridge was vibrating noticeably, indicating that it needed urgent attention. As a result, remedial work was commenced on portions of the bridge at different times, leading to intermittent partial closure of the bridge. In January 2013, this work was completed.
Recently, there have been rumours of cracks on the bridge. This, however, was denied by authorities. The eight-lane bridge experienced a new look during the last repairing exercise, painting the bridge guide with the colours of Nigeria: green, white, green, and also general painting was done out for a new look. The repair works on the bridge were completed and the bridge was reopened on 30 October 2012.
The Third Mainland Bridge has very high vehicular traffic on weekdays, as many residents commute to and from the Lagos Mainland to the Island, which is the commercial hub of Lagos State. Residents in , Agboyi-Ketu, , Isheri, Oworonshoki, Gbagada, Yaba, Maryland and often use the bridge on their daily commutes. The Third Mainland Bridge is an essential part of Lagos' daily commuting, and as such requires to be constantly renovated. It has also come to be a major Lagos icon, offering different views of Lagos—the Lagos , the waterfront and Makoko, a built on the Lagos Lagoon.
On 6 July 2020, it was announced that the Third Mainland Bridge will be closed for six months due to repairs. The bridge was to undergo another round of repairs from Friday, 24 July 2020, to 24 January 2021, for the replacement of bearings and worn-out expansion joints.
On 4 January 2024, The Lagos State Government announces date to close Third Mainland Bridge for complete repairs. Each phase lasted for six weeks. On 4 April 2024, the Federal Government of Nigeria reopened the Third Mainland Bridge.
Construction
[]In the 1970s, following the end of Nigeria's civil war, a period of increasing followed and Nigeria went through series of economic upturns. A need for improved infrastructural facilities especially in the capital city of Lagos that had gone through a period of port congestion and then an upward tick in vehicular traffic created the impetus for a third bridge linking the commercial-oriented with the growing urban settlements of mainland Lagos.
A contract was awarded for a third mainland bridge in 1976. Construction of the bridge was done in phases. The first phase was contracted to a PGH consortium, a venture consisting, Impressit Girola and Borini Prono, while Trevi Group provided support services for . The first phase was designed to be 5 kilometers in length, starting from the Island and ending at , towards . The bridge elevates to 3 kilometers above the water and made from pre-stressed . Foundation piles had varying depths of between 36 and 54 meters and pile diameter is based on potential carrying road, diameters of 1500mm are used for the main bridge crossing the Lagos lagoon and for the and approach roads, pile diameter was between 800mm and 1200mm. The first phase was completed in 1980.
The second phase from Ebute-Metta to Oworonshoki was awarded to in Nigeria.[]
[]
Some certain articulated vehicles and trailers have been restricted from using the bridge.
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