The majority of Nigerians who drive on the main bridges in Lagos, such as the Third Mainland, Cartar, and Marina bridges, are unaware of the risk beneath the structures because of the carbonisation and chlorination on the pile caps, according to Minister of Works Engr. David Umahi.

To provide a sturdy bridge foundation, a thick concrete pad known as a pile cap is placed on top of piles.

When the Minister toured under bridges in Lagos with members of the National Assembly Committees on Works over the weekend, he brought this to light.

The capacity of the pile cap to absorb the chloride water that is damaging the rod within is known as chlorination, he explained.

And if that isn’t stopped, you’ll see that this extremely sturdy construction will quickly turn into biscuits due to the internal reinforcement corroding. And this is the main issue, but the piles that are occurring beneath the sea are an even bigger issue, Umahi stated.

Some of the piles had separated from the pile tops, the minister revealed. The fact that some of the piles are no longer buried in sand indicates that, among other things, unlawful sand mining throughout the years has made the problem worse.

Umahi stated during the visit that the main goal is to show the National Assembly the risks that lie underneath the bridges.

“There are several issues with the Third Mainland bridge. The first is the top deck, which was maintained over the years by applying asphalt on top. As a result, we have produced a super elevation and several potholes as a result of the asphalt’s failure, which has caused numerous accidents. Therefore, we cleaned away all of the laid asphalts when we got on board, which helped the bridge,” he stated.

“The President has come to correct the ills of this country,” he added, praising President Ahmed Bola Tinubu for providing them with the intervention budget to restore the bridges. And everyone wants this to be finished right away because he is committed to fixing it.

He said that for the previous 53 to 60 years, previous administrations had not touched these bridges.

Even if nobody knows what he’s doing over there, he’s still doing it. People are unable to evaluate us for it as they are unable to observe what we are doing. Over certain regions, however, a lot of work is being done day and night.

In response to the President’s involvement, Umahi stated that they had hired Juslius Berger to conduct investigations into the bridges.