FG postpones Third Mainland reopening, blames

The Federal Government has said the #EndSARS protest that took place in October 2020 is the major reason the Third Mainland Bridge will not be opened on Monday as initially scheduled.

The Federal Controller of Works in Lagos, Mr Olukayode Popoola, while speaking to our correspondent in a phone interview, noted that the curfew imposed by the government to put a stop to the protests delayed work on the bridge.

“After the #EndSARS protests there was curfew. During that period, we were supposed to be working. Due to #EndSARS protests, we couldn’t work and due to COVID-19, we couldn’t work,” he said.

Popoola added that the casting of the last expansion joint would happen between February 19 and 21. He said this would require the closing of both lanes to prevent vibration and in order not to cause inconvenience to motorists.

He said that the concrete would require between three to four days to set before the final preparations to finally re-open the entire bridge to traffic.

Popoola said, “We need to cast the last expansion joint and to do that, we need to close both lanes. That is, total closure, in order to prevent vibration. And we don’t want to cause any inconvenience to the motorists.

“We don’t want to catch them during the week. And after casting, we’ll use like three to four days to do suspension. That’s why we had to postpone it.” He however gave the assurance that the bridge would be opened before the end of February.