According to Anaedoonline.ng, the federal government expects the Second Niger Bridge to open to traffic on December 15.
Jimoh Olawale, Delta’s federal controller of works, informed reporters on Wednesday.
He did, however, state that the bridge will only be available for 30 days.
According to him, the minister of works and housing, Babatunde Fashola, ordered the opening of the bridge, which is 95 percent complete, to ease traffic during the Christmas and New Year holidays.
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“As we know, during the Christmas celebration, commuters suffer hardship accessing the old Niger Bridge due to traffic jams but with this arrangement, traffic congestion on Asaba-Benin Expressway will ease,” Olawale said.
“We have notified the state government of this arrangement and we are working with the Federal Roads Safety Corps to ensure a hitch-free vehicular movement.
“Motorists going towards Owerri direction would divert through the access road near the old Niger Bridge to the new bridge.”
Olawale denied that the federal government had abandoned payments to property owners along the access road to the second Niger Bridge.
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He clarified that the government had not seized control of any property along the 17-kilometer Okpanam-Ibusa-Asaba-Oko bypass to the new bridge, but had just served notice that their structures were within the right-of-way.
The controller stated that the compensation payment procedures were being worked out.
“The federal government has appointed a consultant, Messrs C.O. Akpabor and Company to enumerate the properties for compensation,” Olawale said.
“Each claimant has an attorney that liaises with the consultant, so there is no need for protest, more so that the federal government has not taken possession of the properties nor commenced construction work on the access road.
“At the moment, nobody’s structure or property has been demolished.
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“The federal government verification team has visited and submitted its report to Abuja and the government will pay all compensation before work will commence on the access road.”
Olawale promised that the government will finish building the 17-kilometer access road by May 29, 2023.
Fashola stated in October that the bridge’s connecting roadways were still under construction.
“Second Niger Bridge is completed. What is remaining is a 4km interchange road at the Asaba end and 2km out of a 7km link road at the Onitsha end,” Fashola said the link roads to the bridge were still under construction.
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