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The federal government has said that the new Artisan Bridge located at kilometres 0+800 Enugu – Port Harcourt Expressway, which collapsed earlier in the week will be totally demolished, redesigned and reconstructed to avert future occurrences as well as loss of lives.
The Minister of Works, David Umahi, who spoke when he visited the site of the collapsed bridge, said the recommendation was given by the engineers.
“Consequently, a team of engineers was deployed to the affected bridge location so as to collate relevant data, and investigate possible causes of the collapse and come up with a solution to restore the failed bridge.
“The minister visited the site to assess the extent of damage and to also proffer immediate solution to quickly assuage the suffering of both motorists and commuters plying the bridge,” a statement from the works ministry said.
Speaking on the development, Umahi said he had to immediately visit because he knew the collapsed bridge had been of critical use to the socio-economic growth of the entire South-east region, particularly those commuters within and outside Enugu.
Umahi assured the people that the federal government was doing everything humanly possible to reconstruct the bridge with better quality local content materials.
He confirmed that the materials had been tested and would withstand a long period of usage and could have a longevity of up to 50 years with no maintenance, especially with the use of concrete technology.
According to him, this was already being pioneered in the construction of the Apapa-Oshodi road and the Lekki-Ajah Free Trade Zone area in Lagos state as well as in Ebonyi where he was governor and recently in Cross River state by the Governor Bassey Otu
Earlier, the Governor of Enugu state, Peter Mba, expressed appreciation to the federal government for the immediate response, with the visit of the minister.
The 50-year-old overhead bridge across the Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway at the New Artisan Market in Enugu State, collapsed on September 27, without human casualty.
The incident which occurred at about 12 noon, left commuters stranded, creating heavy gridlock around the New Haven and Independence Layout area.
Emmanuel Addeh
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