The Marine Beach Bridge, Apapa, is almost completed for the Apapa bound lane under repairs to be reopened to traffic in a week’s time says the Federal Controller of Works in Lagos, Mr Olukayode Popoola.
Popoola told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday that 10 expansion joints and 60 bearings had been replaced and final asphalting done on the 250 metres stretch under rehabilitation.
He said that the repairs were being carried out in phases and the first phase rehabilitation had been completed and ready to be opened to traffic.
“The 250 metres that we closed in April on Marine Beach Bridge, Apapa is completed.
“We have laid the asphalt, the remaining work now is to put the concrete to hold the expansion joint down which will be done before weekend.
” So hopefully next week, that is the first week in October, that section would be opened to traffic because all the work on that section has been completed.
“We changed 10 number expansion joints making a total of 110 meters and we replaced about 60 bearings and put about 250 metres of asphalt and did jacketing of the piers at that section.
” Jacketing of the piers means that we increased the width by putting the reinforcement and then put the concrete and then where we needed to do the repairs, we did the skin repairs.
“It is like grafting of the human body, we also do skin repairs for the piers, where the concrete is peeling, we replace with fresh ones.
” So we have completed the section and will open it to traffic next week,” he said.
Popoola added that the construction would soon move to the outbound Apapa lane where the same rehabilitation process was expected to be carried.
It would be recalled that in an earlier visit to the construction site by NAN correspondents workmen were seen using water pressure to remove concrete from some already drilled holes on top of the bridge.
In other sections workmen were also seen using large bolts and nuts to clamp down expansion joints to some openings created on the bridge.
Mr Kaadi Ghassan, project manager, Buildwell Plants and Equipment Industries Ltd., contractors on the project told NAN that some special types of fittings were used for fixing the damaged expansion joints and the bearings.
NAN reports that the over 40 year-old Marine Beach Bridge was damaged by a fire incident and was first awarded for repairs in 2012.
It went through another round of six months repairs in 2017, before the current ongoing rehabilitation that began in phases in 2020 with the entire repairs expected to be completed in March 2021. (NAN)
