‘Fourth Mainland bridge: Project to address Opic, Isheri floods, traffic’
Lagos State Government has said the proposed Lagos Fourth Mainland Bridge, which will have a three to four years completion period is neither a mirage nor a white elephant project as the initiative provides a holistic solution to traffic and flooding issues in several communities in the state.
Special Adviser to Governor on Works and Infrastructure, Aramide Adeyoye, stated this on Saturday, at the 15th edition of the project’s Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) Stakeholders meeting for Igbogbo Bayeiku, Agric Owutu, Ishawo, Tapa, Arepo, Ogun State Property & Investment Corporation (OPIC), Estates, Isheri and adjoining communities.
Adeyoye, who was represented by the Project Director in the Ministry, Tokunbo Ajanaku, said government was committed to the Lagos State Transportation Master Plan (LSTMP), urging stakeholders from Lagos and Ogun states to take ownership of the proposed project from the commencement to completion.
According to the Special Adviser, the project, which consists of a 37 kilometres road with 16 different routes, will be carefully nurtured from conception to completion.
Responding to questions by stakeholders, Adeyoye, while highlighting the technical details of the alignment on the corridor, listed numerous benefits of the proposed Fourth Mainland Bridge, saying it will allow access to inland areas, reduce travel time and bring about immense socio-economic development to communities in and around Lagos State.
Also, in his address, representative of the Project Consultant, Messrs Advance Engineering Consultants (AEC), Afolabi Oladunni, said the fourth Mainland bridge would be an international project and best practices demand that the people are involved and carried along through a transparent process as they are ultimately the end users.
Speaking on the project overview , Tola Johnson, an architect, said emerging issues of climate change had been taken care of and demolition of structures on the Right of Way (RoW) for the project would be reduced.
According to him the project, which would facilitate enormous economic development in the state would also allow Government to implement the Lagos State drainage master plan to ensure that people are not unnecessarily exposed to flooding.
Earlier, a resident in Isheri North Government Reserved Area (GRA), Femi Kareem, had expressed worries over the impact of flooding and other environmental impacts that may accompany the project, which begins at Abraham Adesanya, Ajah and terminates at River Valley Estate, along Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.
