The Federal Government has approved the complete demolition and reconstruction of the Carter Bridge in Lagos at a cost of N548.98 billion.

The approval came after independent investigations confirmed that the iconic structure’s underwater piles and pile caps had deteriorated beyond repair.

The Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, announced the approval after Thursday’s Federal Executive Council meeting.

Umahi said the decision followed investigations conducted at multiple points in 2013, 2019 and again under the current administration through Julius Berger, all of which concluded that the bridge could not be saved.

“We convened a stakeholders’ engagement, and all the technical experts all over the country, and even internationally, all agreed that we could not redeem Carter Bridge, and it has to be completely demolished and rebuilt,” Umahi said.

He explained that the underwater piles and pile caps had deteriorated at what he described as a “geometrical progression,” leaving demolition and full reconstruction as the only viable option.

The contract was won by CCCC after a competitive bidding process that included Julius Berger, CCECC, CBC, and China Harbour High Tech.

Umahi said the new bridge would be longer than the original, with the total length extended from 1.525 kilometres to 1.93 kilometres following the addition of a flyover ramp designed to eliminate the bottleneck that has long plagued traffic flow in the area.

“We’ve gone through rigorous procurement and design. The initial total length of that bridge was 1.525 kilometres, with three lanes, dualised. We have now increased the project to 1.93 kilometres because we increased a flyover ramp, so that the bottleneck that is usually there will no longer exist. The total contract sum approved is N548.98bn,” he said.

The new bridge will also feature a navigational waterway of 105 metres by two, according to the minister.

The FEC also separately approved N24.89 billion for underwater elements of the Third Mainland Bridge, to be handled by Julius Berger, among projects being readied for commissioning ahead of President Bola Tinubu’s third anniversary in office on May 29.

The Carter Bridge is one of Lagos’s oldest and most historically significant bridges, serving as a critical link between Lagos Island and the mainland.

Named after Gilbert Carter, a former British governor of Lagos Colony, the bridge has been a vital artery for traffic across Lagos Lagoon for decades.

The bridge has been the subject of recurring concerns about its structural integrity, with authorities periodically restricting heavy vehicle access and carrying out patch repairs over the years.

Its deterioration has been widely attributed to age, heavy traffic load and the corrosive effects of its saltwater environment on its foundational infrastructure. (The PUNCH)

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