… as motorists, residents urge Lagos to allow ‘one-way’ driving
Contractor handling the ongoing repair work on Ijora-Apapa Bridge in Lagos has assured commuters on this bridge that their suffering caused by long hours of traffic gridlock will be over soon, estimating that the repair work, which is at advanced stage, will be completed in two weeks or less.
The Apapa-bound section of the dilapidated bridge was closed on Sunday evening to make way for the repair work, which started on Monday April 10, diverting all Wharf-Apapa vehicular movements to the Mobil and Marine Beach Roads. This has brought untold hardship on motorists, residents and businesses in this part of Lagos.
Arguably, Apapa has become a metaphor for long traffic-induced suffering which is taking its toll on the port city. Apapa from killing businesses in the area, residents are terribly hit by the degradation of their environment, which has drastically reduced the value of their properties by over 30 percent.
Not two months ago, there was terrible traffic gridlock as a result of repair work on the Ijora-bound section of the bridge. In the last three days, it has been quite stressful for motorists and they, along with the residents are urging the Lagos State government to allow them drive against traffic by taking the Ijora-bound section of the bridge to enter Apapa while the repair work lasts.
“The Lagos State government should allow us to be taking one-way on the other section of the bridge which is very free”, said a motorist who identified himself simply as Azeez, insisting, “it does not make sense that everybody is struggling and suffocation on one section of the bridge while the other section is free; quality man-hour is being wasted here”.
When our reporter visited the project site, it was observed that work was really in progress. The top surface of the two portions of the bridge where the main repair work is taking place have been ‘excavated’ with both iron and cable work in place waiting for resurfacing.
“Before the end of this month, we will complete this work”, one of the workers on the bridge told our reporter in an answer to the question as to when the repair work would be concluded. The worker, who refused to give out his name, assured that, “at most in the next two weeks, it will be all over”.
Apapa is a very strategic economic location for Lagos State, but more for the Federal Government, which rakes in hundreds of millions of naira revenue from the two ports, but has the worst road network. The two main routes to the port city—Apapa-Oshodi Expressway and the Ijora-Apapa Bridge are death traps with ditches, gullies, cracks and broken joints. They are merely disasters waiting to happen.
“The state of this bridge is as a result of many years of neglect,” said Babatunde Fashola, minister for power, works and housing, during an inspection of the bridge, explaining that the bridge, which was built about 40 years ago, had not had any meaningful maintenance even after a fire incident under it.
The residents agree and, according to E.O. Ayo-Vaughan, a retired brigadier-general, who is the chairman of Apapa GRA Residents Association, “a lot had been written to the local, state and federal governments in the past on the state of Apapa. The residents have sent emissaries to the local and state governments. The GRA Residents Association had held meetings with the Commissioner for Environment, but all to no avail.
“The three organs are only paying lip service to the wellbeing and up keep of this part of Lagos. Ironically, Apapa is second only to NNPC in terms of revenue generation for the country and cash-cow for the state.”
Though officials of the ministry of works were not disposed to speak on the on-going repair work being handled by Julius Berger, the German construction giant, it was gathered that a holistic repair work has been planned for the bridge.
The work schedule for the repair of the bridge and roads in Apapa shows that major repair work commenced on the Marine Beach bridge outbound lane on March 4. The lane was reopened on March 29 after 24 days work. The inbound lane was closed on March 29 and will be reopened on April 22. These repairs and closures will be repeated on April 23 to June 2 and from there to July 13 for outbound and inbound lanes, respectively.
