The Lagos State government recently announced that a section of Marine Bridge in Apapa, Lagos, would be closed for four months for yet another “emergency repairs”. This announcement took many commuters and port operators aback, especially as it is coming on the heels of a recent closure early this year.
Records show that from 2016 till date, the Marine Bridge has been closed six times for extended periods ranging from three months to six months. It was closed for six months in 2016, four months in 2017, six months in 2018, five months in 2020 and three months in 2021.
This year, the bridge was also partially closed for three months from Monday 17th January to Saturday 2nd April 2022 “for emergency repair works”. All these closures have in various degrees contributed to the notorious Apapa gridlock which has been taking a toll on evacuation of imported cargoes from the Lagos ports, as well as on export cargoes. The ugly traffic situation has also been responsible for the congestion that perennially visits the Lagos ports, leading to the diversion of Nigerian-bound cargoes to neighbouring ports.
In the statement that announced the January to April closure, the Lagos State Ministry of Transportation stated that the partial closure was to allow the Federal Government carry out routine maintenance works on the bridge. The ministry explained that the temporary closure of the bridge was in two sections: Apapa outbound, which will be repaired between 17th January and 9th March 2022, and the Apapa inbound section scheduled between 10th March and 2nd April, 2022.
In the same manner, according to a statement issued by the Lagos State Commissioner for Transportation, Dr. Frederic Oladeinde, the latest closure of the bridge would begin from Saturday August 20 to Tuesday December 20, 2022. He said the closure was due to the notification received from the Federal Ministry of Works on the ongoing emergency repair works of the Marine Bridge. The rehabilitation schedule contained in the notification says traffic outbound Apapa will be diverted to the inbound lane to give way for a contra flow.
With this information, port users and commuters using Apapa-Oshodi expressway are being told to brace up for another round of excruciating experience at a time when a semblance of sanity seems to be returning to the road. But for the lingering repair work on failed portion of the road between Mile 2 and TinCan Island port, road users would have been feeling a bit relieved from the decades of nightmare on the road. The road closure extending to 20th December, the peak of the yuletide season when there are increased business activities at the ports, does not go down well with most port users.
The question that must be asked concerning these closures is, what manner of repair works on the short bridge that cannot be concluded, and the bridge used for at least ten years before another repair work? Is the Federal Ministry of Works handling these repair works really sincere with these repairs, or are the engineers working on the project incompetent? Are the repairs adequately supervised and completion approved before re-opening? If the answer to the last question is in the affirmative, what has gone wrong with the bridge barely four months after a previous repair? Why all these frequent closures and repairs in the last six years? Is the frequent closure driven by corruption?
We at Business & Maritime West Africa believe that these frequent repairs do not give the average road user, especially container-laden trucks enough confidence to use the bridge, as it indicates that all is not well with the bridge. It is hoped that after this latest round of repairs, Apapa road users will be given the assurance that the bridge is okay and good enough for use for, at least, the next five years.
While no one would be against quality and safe road infrastructure, truly speaking, the latest closure of the Marine Bridge is one too many.
