Wale Jagun
Lagos State Government has said the proposed Lagos Fourth Mainland Bridge which has three to four years completion period is neither a mirage nor a white elephant project.
The Special Adviser to the Governor on Works and Infrastructure, Aramide Adeyoye, stated this at the 15th edition of the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment of the proposed Lagos Fourth Mainland Bridge Project Stakeholders’ meeting on Saturday, said the proposed project would make room for future expansion, curb gridlock and bring development to neighbouring communities.
The meeting was organised for residents of Igbogbo/Bayeiku, Agric Owutu, Ishawo, Tapa, Arepo, OPIC Estates, Isheri and communities that the project would passed through.
The Special Adviser was represented by the Project Director in the Ministry, Tokunbo Ajanaku at the meeting.
While commending stakeholders from Lagos and Ogun States, she explained that the Government was committed to the Lagos State Transportation Master Plan (LSTMP) and urged them to take ownership of the proposed project from the commencement to completion.
According to the Special Adviser, the project which consists of a 37 Kilometres road with 16 different routes, will be carefully nurtured from conception to completion.
Responding to questions from stakeholders, Adeyoye highlighted the technical details of the alignment on the corridor and listed numerous benefits of the proposed Fourth Mainland Bridge, stressing that it will allow access to inland areas, reduce travel time and bring about immense socio-economic development to communities in and around Lagos State
In his remarks, one of the representatives of the Project Consultant, Messrs Advance Engineering Consultants, Afolabi Oladunni said the Fourth Mainland Bridge would be an international project and best practices demand that the people are involved and carried along through a transparent process as they are ultimately the end users.
Architect Tola Johnson, another representative of the Project Consultant, who spoke on the project overview, said emerging issues of climate change had been taken care of and demolition of structures on the Right of Way for the Project would be reduced.
According to him, the project, which is expected to facilitate enormous economic development in the State, would also allow Government to implement the Lagos State Drainage Master Plan to ensure that people are not unnecessarily exposed to flooding.
