Lagos reopens Ojota-Maryland Bridge, warns against stealing of manhole covers

The Lagos State Government on Monday inaugurated the newly rehabilitated Ojota-Maryland Bridge designed to ease the persistent gridlocks that plagued the area.

Speaking through the Deputy Governor, Dr. Kadri Obafemi Hamzat at the opening of the rehabilitated bridge, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu stated that the rehabilitation was in line with the commitment of his administration to ensure adequate traffic management and ease of transportation in the state.

While ascertaining the readiness of the bridge for public use immediately, Sanwo-Olu enjoined the citizens to join hands with the state government to assume the responsibility for the bridge by ensuring that they continue to protect the infrastructure.

He further warned miscreants in the state to refrain from removing the newly installed manhole covers, as the state government would persecute anyone caught in such an act.

The Governor said, “The newly replaced manholes are now made of fibres and not metals, so this makes it useless to whoever takes it. Let the manholes be, they are there to protect human beings so that they don’t fall off the bridge, they are there for safety. And if anyone is caught removing the manholes from the bridge, such people will be prosecuted.”

Hamzat personally commended all the stakeholders involved in the early completion of the bridge, as the rehabilitation works which ought to have taken ninety days was completed in 54 days.

The Governor also thanked the Office of Works, Infrastructure, Ministry of Transportation, the Lagos State Traffic Management Agency (LASTMA), and others for a job well done.

Earlier, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Infrastructure, Olufemi Daramola explained that the rehabilitation of the Odo Iya Alaro (Ojota/Maryland) Bridge entailed the installation of new expansion joints and remedial works of the Odo Iya Alaro Bridge which had made it ready for use.

He added that the bridge, which had been closed to traffic since July 22, 2024, was completed and reopened to traffic ahead of schedule because the government was eager to ease the suffering of road users in the corridor.

Recall that work started on the Ojota-bound side of the bridge on 22nd July 2024 and finished on August 23, 2024. Work commenced on the second phase, that is, the Maryland bound section on the 23rd of August, 2024 and finished on the 13th of September, 2024 which is the 54^th day, after commencement.