FG approves N23bn for Third Mainland Bridge maintenance, others…

The Federal Government, on Wednesday, approved the total sum of N23.33bn for surface maintenance of the Third Mainland Bridge, Lagos State, as well as the augmentation of the contract sum for the old Enugu-Anambra road project.

The Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, who briefed State House correspondents after this week’s Federal Executive Council meeting at the Presidential Villa, said the 24-month repair would cover 11 kilometres, including interchanges, ramps, and critical links.

He said the move aligns with Executive Order 11, signed by the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), in April 2022, which gave legal backing to the country’s national maintenance policy.

The announcement came barely two weeks after the Lagos State Government said it would rehabilitate the 32-year-old bridge to repair failed and peeled asphaltic sections and substructure.

The former Lagos State governor said the state’s Public Works Corporation would focus on the functional structure of the bridge, such as the underwater piles, while the FG will undertake surface maintenance to treat potholes and restore missing guard rails.

Meanwhile, the Council also approved a N17.05bn variation for the contract for the construction of the old Enugu-Onitsha road, whose current sum now stands at N48.99bn.