Pilling work has started on the Lagos State Opebi-Ojota Link Bridge as part of the Babajide Sanwo-Olu administration’s commitment to traffic management and transportation.
The Opebi-Ojota Link Bridge, one of the legacy projects of Governor Babajide Sanwo-administration, Olu’s is intended to lessen commuter strain and decongest traffic in the Ikeja axis and on Ikorodu road by providing a direct link from Opebi, Mende, Maryland, and Ojota to Ikorodu road, reducing the recurrent traffic on Mobolaji Bank-Anthony street, and setting precedence for Ojota commuters to link the 3rd Mainland Bridge.
On January 26, 2022, Lagos State Governor Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu officially began work on the 3.9 km Opebi-Ojota link bridge and approach roads, describing it as a new step in the implementation of the State Strategic Transport Master Plan (STMP) and the Traffic Management and Transportation Pillar of his administration’s THEMES Developmental Agenda.
More than 100 registered Nigerian engineers are currently employed on the project, and students from several institutions and NYSC members are also learning the actual applications of their degrees, such geology and civil engineering, there.
Speaking to reporters at the Opebi-Ojota Link Bridge’s Mende area after some state executive council members inspected the ongoing construction, particularly the ongoing pilling work for the bridge, Engr. (Mrs.) Aramide Adeyoye, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Works and Infrastructure, predicted that the bridge would be finished in June 2023.
She added that the bridge, when finished, will have a beneficial impact on residents’ health since they would have the option to exercise on it, similar to the Lekki-Ikoyi Link Bridge, in addition to offering infrastructure and transportation solutions to millions of Lagos residents.
The project concept, according to Adeyoye, was created by the Ministry of Works and Infrastructure in collaboration with the Ministry of Transportation. It will not only offer an infrastructure answer but also a transport solution that would guarantee value and respite for the driving public.
She claimed that the bridge’s design and construction took many factors into account and that it will feature a promenade for locals to jog on and stay in shape.
In addition to empowering qualified Nigerian engineers through the project, Adeyoye revealed that increasing the local capacity and content of Nigerian engineers was taken into account when the contract was awarded. He also added that engineering students are being instructed to gain practical experience.
Dr. Frederick Oladeinde, the commissioner for transportation for the state of Lagos, also spoke during the event and stated that the Opebi-Ojota Link Bridge is an example of the Sanwo-Olu administration’s strategy to revitalise Lagos by giving citizens access to infrastructure that would be complemented by the recently installed inter-modal transportation system, befitting of a megacity like Lagos, while also reducing traffic congestion throughout the city.
“When you look at all the projects that we are doing, they are projects that will either connect communities or make our public transport better. So the focus of this project (Opebi-Ojota Link Bridge) is on public transport. We are building infrastructure so that we people can move efficiently and decently from one point to the other.
“This is how Lagos State Government is thinking in terms of all the projects they are doing to ensure efficiency. So when you look at the population of Lagos, you will understand that it is important that we develop our public transport. So to develop public transport, you must have good infrastructure. So we are developing the infrastructure required to ensure that we put a decent public transport for our people,” he said.
Various of the students at the construction site told journalists that they had learnt a lot from the ongoing work on the Opebi-Ojota Link bridges and approach roads, particularly in the areas of soil testing, drilling, and some civil engineering projects.