Commuters and motorists plying 3rd Mainland Bridge can now heave a
sigh of relief following the full opening of the bridge which has been
under repairs for 16 weeks.Works Minister, Mike Onolememen opened
the bridge Tuesday after eight expansion joints of the longest bridge
linking Lagos Mainland with the Island were repaired.
Though it cost the
Federal Government N1 billion to repair the bridge which was
constructed in the 70s by the General Olusegun Obasanjo military regime
and commissioned by General Ibrahim Babangida, we believe that the
repair work should have encompassed replacing the dead street light and
railings.
Given the huge fund spent on the project, it is amazing that
replacing the stolen railings and street light was not factored into the
project. For that reason, the bridge will still be devoid of these
facilities that are very crucial to the safety of commuters and
motorists.
As important as these facilities are, we expected that
the Federal Government or the Works Ministry would place a high premium
on providing street light on that bridge through which millions of
people commute daily to the nation’s economic nerve centre.
It is the
absence of street light that facilitates frequent robbery attacks on
that bridge at night. Motorists whose vehicles break down on the bridge
have always had harrowing experiences in the hands of bandits who rob
and some times kill them under the cover of darkness.
The absence
of street light has turned the bridge into a dangerous haven for night
marauders, muggers and armed robbers who ambush their victims with ease.
Sometimes motorists and commuters are attacked in traffic jams and the
hoodlums melt into darkness.
It is inconceivable that a bridge of
such strategic importance could be left in utter darkness at night.
The
minister of works should, as a matter of urgency, instruct the relevant
agencies to replace the dead street light. It doesn’t require rocket
science to do so. Or will another contract have to be awarded before the
street light and railing are restored?
