Lagos Begins Immediate Repair Of Alapere Bridge Damaged By Truck

Lagos State Government has concluded plans to commence immediate repair works on the damaged ever-busy pedestrian bridge at Alapere Estate Bus Stop, along Lagos-Ibandan Expressway.

The state government also shutdown the bridge for use by the public over safety concerns.

Commissioner for Transportation, Oluwaseun Osiyemi, announced this after a container-laden truck crashed into the bridge in the early hours on Thursday.

Osiyemi said, “As the state government
attaches to the safety of lives of the people and considering the strategic importance of the ever-busy pedestrian bridge at Alapere/Estate Bus Stop on the Third Axial Road, will commence immediate commencement of construction works on the damaged bridge.”

Osiyemi said while the ascent to the bridge has already been cordoned off, more traffic personnel would be deployed to stop the traffic intermittently for pedestrians to pass in addition to visual display at night for pedestrian safety during the rehabilitation period.

He added that signages and visual displays would be put in place to alert pedestrians and other commuters as contingency measures while the investigations were carried out and the repair works lasted.

Also speaking, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Infrastructure, Engineer Olufemi Daramola, said an assessment of the bridge would be immediately carried out to enable the conduct of integrity tests on the substructure, determine the extent of the damage and ascertain the level of reconstruction works to be carried out on the bridge to make it appropriate for continued public use.

Earlier, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Transportation, Sola Giwa, who was at the scene of the damaged bridge to coordinate traffic response activities, urged commuters to exercise utmost caution and warned that recalcitrant driver would be prosecuted under the extant laws.

According to eyewitness accounts, the damage to the bridge which was constructed 11 years ago was said to have been caused by the impact of a container-laden truck, that tried to manoeuvre under the bridge bearing a load that was far beyond the provided headroom of the bridge thereby causing negative impact to both vehicular traffic and pedestrian users of the bridge.