Tuesday 31 July 2012

Third Mainland Bridge repairs on course

 
 
The repair of one of the eight faulty expansion joints of the partially-closed Third Mainland Bridge has been completed.

Just on Sunday, the bridge was totally closed to traffic, to enable the casting of one of the demolished expansion joints.

The situation led to increased traffic congestion in some parts of the state.

Speaking on the issue, the State Controller, Federal Ministry of Works, Oluwatoyin Obikoya, expressed optimism that the project, scheduled for four months, would be finished ahead of time.

He explained that the casting was done on a Sunday because of its usual light traffic, adding that subsequent castings of the bridge's remaining expansion joints would also be fixed for Sundays.

"The first of the three joints on the Lagos-bound lane, that is, Oworonshoki-Adeniji-Adele lane, was completed yesterday. The contractors hope to cast the second one by next Sunday,” he said.

Obikoya said the reconstruction of the remaining two joints on the Lagos-bound lane could take about two weeks.

He added that the total closure of the bridge, as experienced on Sunday, was necessary to prevent vibrations which could crack the newly cast joints on the bridge.

According to him, any crack on the newly-cast joint would result in premature failure of the reconstruction work.

Obikoya, however, refused to be drawn into projecting the likely date the ongoing repairs would be completed.

In addition to the remaining faulty expansion joints on the Lagos-bound lane, there remain five faulty joints to be fixed on the Oworonshoki-bound lane of the bridge.

The repair work on Africa's longest bridge, which started on July 8, 2012, is expected to end by November 5, 2012.
Culled:Dailytimes

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