The Federal Government has proposed N341 billion for emergency repair of roads and bridges nationwide.
The Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, made this known while updating members of the National Assembly Joint Committee on Works on the repair status of the Third Mainland and Carter bridges, on Saturday, November 2, 2024.
The minister and the legislators were on a tour of the Third Mainland and Carter bridges, both in Lagos State.
Mr Umahi said that repairing the bridges would avert dangers.
The minister said that N341 billion had been proposed to repair roads and bridges nationwide in 2025, but the amount might not be sufficient considering the extent of the damage.
“We have proposed that N341 billion will be needed. We don’t know how much this is going to cost.
”If we are to rebuild these bridges, even N30 trillion will not do it; so, a stitch in time saves nine. This is very important.
“Let me report that Julius Berger had been doing very beautiful work until they encountered this situation.
“We are putting heads together with them. We are also consulting internationally to see what the solution will be.
“It is important that the National Assembly bears in mind that we have problems, there are no problems that cannot be surmounted but problems should not be overlooked,” Mr Umahi said.
The minister praised President Bola Tinubu for their commitment to infrastructure development.
Umahi called for urgent intervention on the bridges.
The National Assembly team gave the assurance that an urgent public engagement would be called to discuss the state of Nigerian roads.
They were led by the Deputy Chief Whip of the Senate, Peter Nwebonyi.
The others are the Minority Whip of the Senate, Sen. Osita Ngwu, Sen. Mpigi Barinada, and the Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Works, Akin Alabi.
The lawmakers regretted the lack of a maintenance plan after road construction or rehabilitation.
They said that the bridges had remained in bad condition decades after their construction due to the absence of a maintenance plan.
The lawmakers commended the minister for efforts in addressing the country’s infrastructure needs.
They emphasised the importance of allocating a “condition survey ” budget for all bridges to ensure consistent maintenance and prevent damage.
The engineers responsible for maintaining and repairing the bridges presented various strategies to ensure safety.
The strategies include the installation of temporary built-up steel support installation, reconstruction of the capping beam, casting of guard wall installation, and steel cage installation
