Moshood Adebayo
Lagos State governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has assured that the section of Eko Bridge that is currently closed down would be open to traffic by the end of next month.
He also said the contractor handling the repairs of the Alaka to Costain section of the bridge had promised to complete the works next month.
The governor, who made the disclosure during a tour of Apapa and Mile 2, yesterday added that his administration was poised to ensure that sanity returns to the gridlock in Apapa and its environ.
Sanwo-Olu also said discussions are at advanced stage to have two holding bays that trucks could park instead of the current situations where truck owners obstruct traffic flow.
While lamenting that some small holding bays around Apapa was not being utilised by articulated vehicles, the governor appealed to truck drivers and owners to have a change of act.
At Mile 2, the governor complained about residents’ act of dumping items in the drainage which he noticed often block the drains.
His words: “You can see that there has been a major failure in this section of the Lagos Badagry expressroad. Like I was explaining to the citizens, about two weeks ago, we have cleared out all this drainage with over 70tonnes of silt blocking the drains.
“You see that there is an attempt that they have started throwing garbage back into the drain. The drain gets blocked when it rains, the water does not have a place to go, it stays on the road and you know that bitumen and water are not friends and that is what had given this road a massive failure. This is a major failure we have seen here.”
“So, from from under the bridge, we are going to do rigid pavement, it will be all concrete pavement like the type we saw at the port. So we are not going to be using bitumen again or asphalt. And we are going to be doing another outfall, we are going to do a dedicated drainage again, which will take it straight to the lagoon further down,which is about one or two kilometers from here.
“So, for us it’s difficult when we keep coming back and we have spent a lot of tax payers money to fix this road and we need to help ourselves, people need to just change their behaviour and people need to take responsibility.
“That’s why I have to plead with them, if they can just watch their way of life and dispose their refuse properly, then we will be able to keep the sanctity of the road longer and better for all us.”