Lagos govt to FG: Apapa Bridge, Port Road may collapse soon

…Calls for urgent intervention
By Henry Obetta

LAGOS — THE Lagos State government has called on the Federal Government, through the Ministry of Works, to fix the deteriorating condition of the Apapa Bridge and adjoining road networks to prevent a looming safety and economic crisis within the port corridor.
Addressing newsmen in Lagos, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s Senior Special Assistant on Transportation and Logistics, Mr Adekoya Hassan, noted that Apapa remains a critical gateway to the nation’s economy and the primary exit route for goods, tankers and commuters accessing the Lagos Port Complex.
Hassan said urgent steps must be taken by the Ministry of Works to prevent a collapse of the bridge.
He said: “We are concerned about the outbound heavy duty truck traffic from this terminal. If this road is fixed 10 times, we’ll still have the same result which is the collapse. It is the only exit road from Apapa, Lagos port; the current road here has been under construction for a while.
“If the Minister does not pay any attention to this road, perhaps if this road collapses any moment from now, it will have a great effect on the nation’s ports here. So, we are calling on the Minister to put the road in order.
“While appreciating the government’s efforts to upgrade infrastructure nationwide, we urge them to prioritise the Apapa ports, a crucial gateway to our economy. The roads are in dire need of repairs and maintenance to ensure efficient operations. We look forward to seeing improvements in this critical area.”
Also speaking, Chairman of the Apapa Truck Cargoes, Saheed Mahmoud decried the state of the road saying “This road is causing damage to our trucks. When coming from Apapa, on getting to this road, there is accident. Some trucks fall with their cargo here. We are pleading with the Federal Government to help with repairs.”
On his part, the Chairman of Klassique Tenor Limited, Mr Ayo Vaughan, urged the Federal Government to carry out durable reconstruction, saying that former repairs collapsed.
Vaughan said: “About three months ago, the Federal Government came up with a fire brigade repair, carried out some repairs on the road but right now, it has collapsed again. The Minister of Works lives in Abuja, maybe he doesn’t know what is happening in Lagos but they have to do something concrete that will stand the test of time. Also they have to fix the Apapa costain road.”

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