Without its immense highway bridges spanning the lagoon, Lagos, the tentacular commercial capital of Nigeria, would be paralysed.
Every day, well before dawn, tens of millions of vehicles set out to cross bridges that were the envy of the African continent back in the Seventies. Deprived of maintenance ever since, they are now showing signs of wear and tear.
A cursory glance at a report by Lagos State government reveals vibrations, water seeping into the pillars, concrete worn away at the base of the pillars, an absence of safety railings and numerous potholes.
Some bridges also serve as parking lots for the city’s rusty buses.
And with the lots come the vendors, selling everything from pirated DVDs to peeled oranges to underwear. A three-lane bridge is rapidly reduced to one lane.
But in a city where few can afford to live close to their place of work, there is no option but to use the bridges.
Stuck in complete gridlock on a bridge the commuter can read the signs at leisure: ”Drive slowly. This bridge is under investigation” on Third Mainland; or ”Do not urinate, do not defecate,” on Falomo Bridge.
Third Mainland, which links the Ikoyi business and residential district to the mainland and the airport, is the longest of the bridges with an 8km segment spanning the lagoon.
Ademola Oyedepo, a public works engineer, warns that the bridge is ”reaching a point where it should no longer be used”.
”That doesn’t mean it will necessarily collapse, but it needs maintenance work pretty quickly if we are to avoid it getting worse,” he said.
The only consolation of being in a go-slow is that commuters can do their shopping. Hawkers skip in and out of the traffic selling onions, phone cards, dark glasses, lavatory seats, Bill Clinton’s memoirs — you name it.
Salimotu Adediji (38) leaves her distant Egbeda suburb every morning when it is still dark to commute to a restaurant on Victoria Island where she works.
”Every morning I close my eyes. You can feel all sorts of vibrations on the bridges, but what can we do? We don’t have any choice,” she said.
The state authorities do their best to play down the danger.
”There is nothing to be afraid of. The bridges are in a good state of repair. We’re always inspecting them. They’re not going to collapse,” said Gani Johnson, a state government advisor on infrastructure.
Asked for statistics on how many people take the main bridges each day, however, he looks blank.
A document consulted by Agence France-Presse at the federal Ministry of Transport vindicates Oyedepo’s concern. An inspection of 94 bridges and link roads carried out in Lagos two years ago indicated they are generally in a state of weakness.
And once again Third Mainland is singled out for attention. The report notes potholes, a poor road surface and bumps where the segments are joined.
”My fear is that nothing has been done since they drew up that report,” said Oyedepo. – Sapa-AFP