People living along Apapa-Oshodi Expressway, who make use of Ilasa Pedestrian Bridge, have expressed fear that the bridge may soon collapse due to its bad state.
A pedestrian, who gave his name simply as George, said that if government did not do anything urgently about the bridge, it would collapse any moment from now.
He warned that if it collapsed, the causalities might be high.
He said, “The bridge is shaking. I don’t know why the government has not come to do something about it before it collapses and kills people.
“Anyone who is using this bridge is risking his or her life, but you still see people on it because they have no choice.
“If there is another bridge, people would have stopped using it but because there is no other one, pedestrians have no option but to continue using it.”
George advised government to have people who would monitor infrastructure in the state to determine their true state.
He said government should not wait until people die before doing something about the bridge, adding that government should be pro-active and not retroactive.
Another pedestrian by the name John, said the bridge was an old bridge, and should have been replaced by a modern one.
John said, “For me, this is not a bridge. If you stand at the foot, you will feel it shaking. Walking on it is a nightmare. There is no supporting peripheral and if one is not careful, one may miss one’s way and fall from the bridge.
“Government should build a modern bridge on time to replace this one. In fact, there is no bridge here - climbing this bridge is like embarking on a risking venture.”
A motorcyclist, who gave his name as Friday Akpan, said that two weeks ago, a Julius Berger truck hit the bridge and damaged part of it.
He said apart from the damage, the truck had further weakened the bridge.
Akpan said although the damaged part had been repaired, he added that the repair was hurriedly done and might not last for a long time.
He said, “The bridge has been built since 1979 and up to the present time, the government has not done any repair work on it. The length of the bridge also matters.
“The bridge should be replaced with a modern one like we have at Onipanu, Ojota and many other places. Let them come quickly and do Ilasa Bridge before it collapses and harms us.”
Esther, another pedestrian, said the bridge had been shaking before Julius Berger’s truck hit, adding that the truck had worsened it.
She said the side that the truck damaged was hurriedly done by the government.
Asked if she observed that there are holes on the bridge, she said, “The holes have been there for a long time and that it is very dangerous to walk on the bridge, I pray each time I climb it.
“The government has neglected us. But when elections are approaching, they will tell us that they have carried out some projects. Is this not part of the projects they supposed to carry out? ” Esther asked.
But a source at Mushin Local Government said construction of pedestrian bridges fell within the purview of the state government.
“Our own is just to enforce the usage of the bridges,” he added.
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