Lagos – The Lagos State Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, Mr Ganiyu Johnson, on Tuesday said the government would soon start rehabilitation of the damaged pedestrian bridge at Fadeyi Bus Stop on Ikorodu Road.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the state government had, in November 2015, shut the steel bridge in the area due to public outcry over its dilapidated state.
Mini-gates were thereafter used to block the entry and exit points of the foot bridge to prevent its use.
Johnson told NAN that the state government planned to rehabilitate the bridge alongside the ongoing construction of four new ones.
The commissioner said that the state government was concerned about the safety of pedestrians and other road users and so, was embarking on the constructions simultaneously.
“We are rehabilitating the Fadeyi steel bridge very soon; we are in the process of renovating it because some plates got corroded.
“We cannot overemphasise the need for pedestrian bridges; the safety of our people is paramount. So, wherever we locate foot bridges, it is to stop death of pedestrians.
“For example, at Anthony bus stop, we have one ongoing construction and we hope to deliver it in the next three months,’’ he said.
Johnson said that an additional pedestrian bridge was also being constructed at Ojota due to the volume of human traffic and compliance to use of the existing one.
He said that the median barriers constructed by the state government in the area had compelled pedestrians to use the existing foot bridge.
The commissioner also said that a pedestrian bridge, a slip road and lay bys were being constructed at Ojodu-Berger to ensure free flow of human and vehicular traffic on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.
“At Ojodu Berger, apart from the pedestrian bridge that we are constructing, we are also constructing lay bys and a slip road because we observed that pedestrians are not the only ones causing gridlock.
“Even motorists trying to pick passengers tend to slow down traffic and cause gridlock. So, we are expanding that junction to accommodate buses coming inward or outward of Lagos.
“We have lay bys of about 100 metres to accommodate about 10 to 15 luxury buses and 15 light buses to free up the main carriageway of Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.
“In addition to that, we have a slip road to decongest the loop into Magodo,’’ he said. (NAN)