Following the closure of the Third Mainland Bridge for repairs today, the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) has urged motorists and commuters to comply with traffic rules to ensure free flow of traffic on the alternative routes.
Lagos State Sector Commander of FRSC, Hyginus Omeje, said the corps has met with stakeholders to ensure hitch-free movement throughout the closure. Omeje said 200 personnel had been deployed to the critical corridors to facilitate free flow of movement of vehicles, while the corps was working in cooperation with other law enforcement agencies to check gridlock on the road as a result of the ongoing repairs on the bridge.
The multi-agency traffic management will include personnel of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), traffic division of the police and Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) Response Unit (LRU).
Also, LASTMA said it has deployed 500 officials to ease the flow of traffic in the state. Public Relations Officer, LASTMA, Hassan Mamud, said the agency has mobilized men and resources that will help achieve free flow of traffic around all the alternative routes that have been mapped out for the exercise.He appealed to motorists and commuters to obey the directives of LASTMA officials and cooperate with them on the road to ensure seamless traffic throughout the period.
In the same vein, the lawmaker representing Lagos East, Senator Gbenga Ashafa, said it is important to cooperate with the federal and Lagos state governments because of the possible inconveniences the closure would create "but it is for public good at the end."
Tracing the history of the repairs of the bridge back to 2013, when he raised a motion on the floor of the Senate calling on the Federal Government to rehabilitate the 28-year-old bridge, Ashafa said, "On February 7, 2013, I moved a motion for immediate conduct of a comprehensive rehabilitation of the bridge based on an independent assessment, which showed that substantial portions of the bridge had began to fail.
"This prompted the government to commit itself to necessary periodic repairs of the bridge to ensure it is safe and strong enough to sustain the weight of vehicles plying it daily. Once again, the government has commenced another round of repairs, which warranted its closure but I am fully aware of the inconvenience the exercise would bring. Government has however put in place palliative measures to ensure that this period of closure is as seamless as possible for motorists. I therefore urge you all to cooperate with the government and observe the travel advisory as released by the state government."
On the alternative routes, Mamud said those coming from Ikorodu can use Ikorodu road to join Funsho Williams and link up with Carter bridge to the island. Those coming from Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway should pass through Oshodi to Mushin, linkup with Western Avenue and join Eko Bridge.
Motorists from Okokomaiko, Festac, Oshodi-Apapa Expressway are enjoined to ply through Ajegunle via Marine Bridge to Ijora to connect Carter Bridge to Apongbon into Lagos Island. Conversely, motorists from the Island are expected to ply Eko Bridge and Carter Bridge into Mainland, while those in Lekki Ajah can also make use of Epe axis through Imota into Ikorodu.
