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Monday, 17 September 2012

Ikoyi-Lekki Link Bridge to be ready before year end


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Residents of the highbrow Ikoyi, Lekki and the adjourning areas of Victoria Island in Lagos, cannot wait to have a ride on it. Not with the big relief it will offer them from the daily traffic challenge the residents faced trying to connect either Ikoyi or Lekki through Falomo Bridge, Alfred Rewane Road or Lekki-Epe Road.

However, with a little more patience, perhaps two months from now, the residents’ long expectation of plying the short-cut Lekki-Ikoyi Link Bridge will be met, as CityFile findings showed that work on the bridge, the first of its kind in this part of the world, is almost completed.
Femi Hamzat, Lagos State commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, described it as historic and West Africa’s first cable-stayed bridge. “No doubt, it is a testament to the sagacity of an administration determined to build tomorrow’s infrastructure today. It is the hallmark of a commitment to the welfare and socio-economic well being of its people,” Hamzat said.
A recent visit to the site showed that the project has reached over 95 percent completion stage, and plans on the part of the state government seem to have started to hand it over the public, as the commissioner confirmed that the target is to commission before the end of this year.
Conceived in year 2008, as a palpable solution to the perennial bottleneck that characterised the Lekki- Epe road being serviced by only one access road around the Elegushi Round about and Lekki phase 1; the aesthetically bridge provides the standard megacity compliant facility. It is to serve as a strategic bypass along the Falomo Bridge and Alfred Rewane, Independence Bridge and Ahmadu Bello Way.
Designed as dual carriageway, the bridge directly connects Lekki Phase I Estate with Alexander in Ikoyi. It is envisaged that on completion it would improve the living standard of the people and enhance social interaction, as it represents a significant content in the state’s tourism portfolio.
“The infrastructures provided must not only reflect present realities but also envisage future growth trends,” Hamzat said.
Technical details of the bridge obtained by CityFile from the state ministry works and infrastructure shows as follows: total length of bridge - 1.358km comprising of 722m approach and main bridge 466m; length of cable- 170m (suspended section).
Height of pylon: 87m from water level; navigational requirement clearance average of 9m above high water level.
Width is 16m across (8m on both sides); walkway – 4m across (2m on both sides); road works- Ikoyi end – 338. 7m while Lekki end is 311.5m

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