Lagos State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Gbenga Omotosho, has revealed that the newly constructed Ojota-Opebi Link Bridge is structurally ready for use, but members of the public will have to wait several months before it opens to traffic.
Speaking during an interview on Channels Television’s Morning Brief program on Tuesday, Omotosho explained the reason for the delay.
“For road, there’s something that I as a layman can call the kind of gestation period. You don’t pour concrete today and then next day begin to live in a house or begin to jump on the bridge. No, we are allowing it to stay. These are technical details that only engineers can talk about,” he said.
He added that while the bridge is physically ready for riding, engineers insist on completing certain aesthetic aspects before it can be officially used.
“If you saw people just ride on it, it’s ready today. But a road is beyond what can be used to ride on. The engineers will say we have to do this as usual time,” Omotosho said.
The commissioner also confirmed that President Bola Tinubu is scheduled to commission the bridge on Wednesday, April 8.
However, he cautioned that public access will follow only after the completion of finishing works, estimating about two months before commuters can use it.
“In about two months,” he said when asked when the bridge would open to traffic.
The Lagos State Ministry of Transportation has issued a traffic advisory announcing partial road closures during the commissioning events on April 8 and 9.
LASTMA personnel will be deployed to manage traffic, and motorists are urged to allow extra time for their journeys.
The 5.04-kilometre bridge, first conceived over 20 years ago during Tinubu’s tenure as governor of Lagos State, was revived by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu in January 2022. It is designed to ease severe traffic congestion in the Ojota, Maryland, Mende, Opebi, and Allen corridors.
President Tinubu’s visit will include the commissioning of six major projects over two days, including the bridge, the Lagos State Geographic Information Service building, the Lagos Multi-Agency Building in Alausa, the Lagos Fresh Food Hub in Abijo, the Tolu Schools Complex in Ajegunle, and the Maracana Stadium.
