Third Mainland Bridge Partial Closure To Be Done In Two Phases - Controller of Works

On the proposed six-month partial closure of the busy Third Mainland Bridge in Lagos, both the federal and state governments have asked Lagosians who ply the bridge to cooperate with the agencies that will be taking on the rehabilitation of the bridge.

The announcement of the closure of the bridge was made on Monday, with the government stating that the partial closure would commence on the 24th of July through to January 2021.

Speaking on the closure, the Federal Controller of Works in Lagos State, Olukayode Popoola, said that the government was implementing vital protocols to mitigate the clog of vehicular traffic on the bridge.

He added that traffic would be diverted in two phases during the period of the maintenance.

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Popoola explains, “Phase one of the diversions, which will last three months for the repair of the Oworonsoki bound lane of the Third Mainland Bridge, will be for morning traffic from 12 am to 1 pm from Oworonshoki to Lagos Island on the Lagos Island-bound lane, while the afternoon traffic from 1 pm to 12 am would be from Lagos Island to Oworonsoki on the Lagos Island-bound lane.

“The phase two of the diversion, which will also last three months for the repair of the Lagos Island-bound lane of the Third Mainland Bridge, will be for morning traffic from 12 am to 1 pm from Oworonsoki to Lagos Island on the Oworonsoki bound lane, while the afternoon traffic from 1 pm to 12 am will be from Lagos Island to Oworonsoki on the Oworonsoki bound lane.’’

In 2018, the bridge was shut to commuters for three days, as the government conducted some maintenance check.

Constructed in 1990, the Third Mainland Bridge is an 11.8 kilometres bridge that connects the mainland to Lagos Island.

Prior to 1996, it held the record for the longest bridge in Africa until the construction of the 6th October Bridge in Cairo, Egypt.