The Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has re-emphasised his commitment to completing the Fourth Mainland Bridge targeted at easing transportation in the state.
Sanwo-Olu reiterated his commitment to building the bridge during the swearing-in ceremony of his newly appointed second-term cabinet members held at the Adeyemi Bero Auditorium, Alausa, Ikeja, on Wednesday.
He said his administration would focus on building the 1st Phase of the bridge. According to him, the bridge will improve the lives and economic conditions for people living around Ikorodu, Epe and the Ibeju-Lekki axis of the state.
This Bridge, which will link Ikorodu, Epe and Ibeju-Lekki axes of our state, will further open up the eastern corridor of Lagos, and catalyse economic growth and development for the millions of Lagosians living and working in that area,” he said.
The governor also expressed joy at the commencement of passenger operations by Phase 1 of the Lagos Blue Line rail. He said the government will extend the Blue line to expand service delivery to more Lagosians.
We shall commence the extension of the Blue Line from Mile 2 to Okokomaiko. This will expand coverage of the service to millions more of our people. When completed and fully operational, the extended Blue Line and the Red Line will jointly serve over one and a half million commuters daily,” he said.
In April, Sanwo-Olu, had assured residents of the groundbreaking opening of the Fourth Mainland Bridge in coming months.
He had said in a statement that the government would commit to the development and inclusion of Ikorodu, Lagos.
What we are about is ensuring that the next four years come with bigger dividends delivered faster than we have done in our first tenure. There will be accelerated development across the city in the next dispensation. Ikorodu is part of the greater Lagos that is rising
In the next couple months, we will be doing a groundbreaking ceremony for the Fourth Mainland Bridge, which will cut across major sections of the Sagamu-Ikorodu Expressway before finally opening to the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway. We are committed to delivering this project in our second term to completely open Ikorodu to the world,” he had said.
The Fourth Mainland Bridge is a 38km-long bridge project by the Lagos State Government. The bridge will connect Lagos Island through Lekki, across the Lagos Lagoon to Itamaga, in Ikorodu.
The bridge is a four-lane dual carriageway with reservations for the Bus Rapid Transit Lane and. Upon completion, the bridge will be the second-longest in Africa.
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The project is targeted at connecting people and improving their traffic flow in large numbers. This will be done by reorganizing vehicles, waterways, and pedestrian modes of transportation. The upper level of the bridge is expected to be used for vehicular traffic and the lower level for pedestrian, social, commercial, and cultural interactions.
The idea of the bridge began with the government of Bola Tinubu as the then Lagos State Governor. The bridge will come after 50 years after the state’s creation and 26 years after the ex-military President Ibrahim Babangida, oversaw the construction of the Third Mainland Bridge.