Third Mainland Bridge N291M Inspection Contract Approved By Federal Government

Nigeria's Federal Government on Wednesday approved a N290.745 million contract for a comprehensive underwater inspection of the state of Third Mainland Bridge in Lagos. Labaran Maku, the Minister of Information disclosed this to journalists after the weekly meeting of Federal Executive Council presided over by President Goodluck Jonathan. The approval of the contract followed a memo presented to Mike Onolememen, the Minister of Works on the issue. Maku noted that the bridge, a vital artery on the federal highways network connecting Lagos mainland to the island required replacement of damaged expansion joints and bearings as indicated by investigations conducted in 2008. The investigations were conducted following reports of oscillation and excessive vibrations of the bridge under traffic load. "The reports indicated that the bridge was structurally sound but required the replacement of damaged expansion joints and bearings", stated Maku. He added that the contract will involve comprehensive underwater inspection, assessment of pilings, river bed bathymetric survey, profiling and echo metric test on the Bridge. This, he also stated will save the bridge from extensive deteriorating condition. The contract was awarded to Messrs ICECON (Nig.) Ltd and is expected to be completed in two months.