Motorists in Lagos State have expressed excitement over the announcement of the reopening of the Third Mainland Bridge.
The Lagos State Government had on Saturday, March 30, announced that the bridge, which had been under repair for the last seven weeks, would be reopened on April 4, 2024.
The bridge was partially closed to traffic on Tuesday, January 9, 2024.
This was as the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority, in a statement by its spokesperson, Adebayo Toafiq, warned motorists to observe speed limits when travelling along the extensive section of the newly repaired Third Mainland Bridge.
It urged them to “maintain speed limits while driving on the long stretch of the newly renovated Third Mainland Bridge linking the Mainland and other parts of the state.”
Speaking in an interview with Saturday PUNCH, some of the motorists expressed excitement that the opening of the bridge would be a relief and ease their business.
A commercial bus driver, Nwoke Marcel, said he had been avoiding the route during the period of the partial closure of the bridge.
He said, “Because of the closure, I stopped plying that route to avoid the ‘go-slow’ on the bridge.”
He stated that with the reopening, he would resume plying the route to continue his business.
Another commercial bus driver, Adeniyi Samuel, said, “The traffic there was too much but if you are saying they will open it that is a good thing. At least the road will come back to normal.”
A private company driver, Mr Joel Odekola, said he usually spent up to two hours in traffic on the route while the repair was ongoing.
He expressed relief that the reopening would ease his movement.
He said, “Before the reopening, if you enter from Ikoyi, you will spend between two and three hours before you get to bypass sometimes. It is not a good experience at all.
“You can imagine how it is if you are spending three hours on a journey that should be less than 15 minutes. It will be very okay if they can open the road.”
Similarly, a lawyer, Osuji Chima, described the opening of the road as “good news.”
“I don’t usually pass through the road, especially during the period of partial closure. It is good news anyway if they have reopened it as you have said,” he said.