The Federal Government on Wednesday assured Nigerians that the Third Mainland Bridge, Lagos was safe for use, undergoing routine maintenance and not vandalised as being speculated on social media.
The Federal Controller of Works in Lagos State, Mrs Olukorede Kesha, made the remarks in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), adding that the images being circulated were those of an ongoing rehabilitation work not vandalism.
Kesha said there was an ongoing routine maintenance contract on the Third Mainland Bridge and the portion that was seen being chiseled out was done by the contractors to correct some wear and tear on the infrastructure.
She explained that because the bridge was sitting on salt water, some portions of the pie-cap got corroded, hence the need to apply cathodic protection to replenish the damaged portions.
“The pie-cap is inside the water and it is sitting inside the salty sea water, in order to prevent that salt from attacking specially-made concrete to withstand the pressure, we still periodically protect it with cathodic protection.
“So, that is what we are trying to do, we saw that the concrete cover was removed as a result of the pie-cap being in water for long. So, before doing the concrete cover we needed to treat the reinforcement that had been exposed.
“So, that was why it was neatly cut like that. They will spray the reinforcement with efogy and then they will now cover the reinforcement back, which is the concrete cover, and spray everywhere with cathodic protection,” she said.
The Controller explained that the process was like fumigating ones environment to get rid of mosquitoes and other pests, adding that, it had to be continued to ensure longevity of the infrastructure.
“There is no danger to the Third Mainland Bridge, it is safe, we all use that bridge,” she said.
She added that rehabilitation of the Third Mainland Bridge was part of routine maintenance contract on all bridges in Lagos State.
Cathodic protection is a technique used to control the corrosion of metal surfaces. (NAN)
