The Federal Government has fast-tracked the major reconstruction of the historic Carter Bridge, cutting the project’s execution timeline from 36 months down to 24 months to minimize urban disruption and safeguard commuters.
​The Minister of Works, Sen. Dave Umahi, revealed the accelerated schedule on Monday while conducting a high-level inspection of ongoing structural interventions across the Carter Bridge and neighboring Iddo Bridge corridors in Lagos.
​Umahi was joined by the Minister of State for Works, Sen. Mohammed Goronyo; Chairman of the House Committee on Works, Hon. Akin Alabi; alongside senior technical teams from the project’s contractor, China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC).
​Speaking during the site assessment, Umahi explained that emergency action became critical after underwater engineering surveys exposed severe structural degradation beneath the surface.
​”Carter Bridge has stayed for over 60 to 70 years with no major maintenance,” Umahi said. “The lifespan of every bridge is about 50 years. What we discovered from underwater surveys is that a lot of the piles have detached from the pile caps… Rust, severe scouring, and illegal sand mining contributed heavily to this failure.”
​To avoid a complete closure of the critical arterial route which officials noted would cause severe traffic chaos (katakata) across the state, the Federal Ministry of Works approved an advanced redesign:
This designs will include; The Double-Deck Structural System, a Staggering one carriageway directly above the other to optimize traffic capacity. The 105-Meter Cable-Stayed Span: Integrating a elevated cable section to ensure unhindered marine navigation beneath.
More design on The Traffic Integration Ramps, by Building targeted access loops at major choke points to prevent bottlenecking and the Erosion Mitigation Installation, underwater gabions and reinforced pile protections to halt further scouring.
​CCECC representatives reported that preliminary works, site acquisitions, and access preparation stand at 15% completion, with underwater piling scheduled to commence before week’s end.
​On the adjacent Iddo Bridge site, engineers reported significant progress, confirming that three compromised spans (13, 14, and 15) have been replaced and raised to improve vertical clearance. With drainage systems and Continuously Reinforced Concrete Pavement (CRCP) 90% completed, full operational clearance is slated within two months.
​House Committee Chairman Akin Alabi commended the ministry’s swift response to critical failure points, pledging full legislative support to ensure sustained funding and timely delivery.
