Commuting With Pains

Lagosians who frequently used it are under no illusion that the next two months will be easy. But, significantly, according to commuters, the closure has, once again, exposed the inconsiderate manner government agencies carry out assignments of national importance. The experience has been confusion and unprecedented level of traffic jams in and around the entrances and exits of the bridge. It appears the public service announcements, flyers, posters and banners placed at strategic places to alert the public on the closure have not been of much effect, as many business and social activities have been seriously affected.

Oniru announced this following observation by officials of the state government and some members of the public that a particular part of the bridge was vibrating when vehicles passed on the bridge. Experts were then invited from Europe to inspect the bridge and 38 others in the country to determine their safety. According to him, the deterioration of most of the bridges inspected was so alarming that the foreign experts that were scheduled to spend two weeks ended up staying about three months.

TheNEWS gathered that most the billions of naira released during the eight years of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo’s presidency for the maintenance of federal roads and bridges in Lagos ended up in private pockets. However, the Lagos State government is currently working in concert with the federal government to make commuting less stressful for road users during the ongoing repairs. Addressing journalists in Ikeja, Lagos on 10 August, Prof. Bamidele Banjo, Lagos State Commissioner for Transportation disclosed that the government of Babatunde Fashola will commission three relief roads in the next two months to reduce traffic problems in the state.

He revealed that his ministry has identified 28 locations that usually cause traffic gridlock in the state, emphasising that the relief roads would help create a traffic-free Lagos. He added that Governor Fashola has given the go-ahead for the implementation of a blueprint for water transportation system in the state. According to him, the water routes have been identified and outlined, with directional signs and terminals provided. Also at the last meeting of stakeholders on the repair of the Third Mainland Bridge, Governor Fashola affirmed the preparedness of the contractor handling the project, assuring that Lagosians will not be given unnecessary stress.

But users of the partially closed bridge are skeptical about the ability of the contractor handling the rehabilitation project to complete it within the stipulated 35 days. Mr. Boye Seriki, a banker who currently lives at Gbagada and has his office on the Island, said everybody is fully aware that the closure of the bridge is causing immense inconvenience, but expressed fear that the repair work may extend beyond the 35 days given by the contractor. “The problem is not the inconveniences Lagosians are subject to presently. My fear is about the time given by the contractor, because I am aware that the bridge has not enjoyed any serious maintenance since it was commissioned in 1990 and may therefore not be probably taken care of in 35 days,” he noted.

Other users who benefit immensely from the bridge on a daily basis, especially those who find it a faster way to and from the Island, also doubt the pledge by the Federal Ministry of Works and the contractor handling the project that repair work will be concluded as scheduled, on 6 September. Even if the deadline is met, the hardship the bridge’s closure is causing on a daily basis has brought to the fore the need for the construction of an alternative road or bridge – perhaps a Fourth Mainland Bridge – to minimise traffic congestion in Lagos. It is also suggested that the state government should try developing industrial towns around the metropolis, to which some of the teeming businesses on the Island can relocate. At the moment, however, Lagosians have no option other than to wait patiently for repair work on the bridge to be concluded.