AHEAD of plans to decongest the existing Lekki-Epe corridor from traffic congestion, construction giant, Messrs Julius Berger Plc revealed at the weekend that construction activities at the ambitious West Africa's first suspension bridge has reached 72 per cent completion.Contract for the bridge project was awarded in March 2009 by the Lagos State government, conceived and partly designed as an alternative route meant to address the traffic problem associated with the area, and to shorten travel time between Ikoyi and Lekki as against what currently obtains, where motorists on a bad day (when traffic is hectic on Lekki-Epe Expressway) spend hours before reaching their destinations.The Lekki-Ikoyi link bridge has a length of 1,358m with the height of the pylon being 87 metres from water level. Work began on it in 2009, and is expected to be completed next year, according to senior officials.A suspension bridge is a type of bridge in which the deck (the load-bearing portion) is hung below suspension cables on vertical suspenders.Statistics shows that the bridge is designed to have a maximum of 3.5 per cent vertical alignment and minimum radius of 350 metres horizontal alignment with 90 metres pylon height from water level. Additional facilities to be added on full completion are 2.3mx2 walkway, streetlights and cable ducts. The cable bridge has a length of 170 metres and a height of 87 metres from water level, and consists of two spans with an average of 85 metres.The 1358-metre bridge (length) is being constructed across the lagoon flowing towards Osborne in Ikoyi and Lekki Scheme1 Housing Estate. The project is anchored on Admiralty Way end of the new Lekki-Ikoyi Link Bridge expected to be terminated at Alexander Road on Ikoyi. The bridge is also designed to have a maximum of 3.5 per cent vertical alignment and minimum radius of 350 metres horizontal alignment with 90 metres pylon height from water level. Additional facilities to be added on full completion are 2.3mx2 walkway, streetlights and cable ducts.Specifically, the company confirmed to The Guardian through its Technical Manager, Dr. Peer Lubasch, that the foundation of the bridge approach area and part of the main bridge had been finished putting the percentage work done at 72 per cent.He also revealed that construction of the roundabout area towards Lekki and Ikoyi would begin in January next year while total completion of the project would come at the end of 2012According to Head of Department Technical Services Julius Berger Plc, Mr. Joern Seitz, an engineer, Bilfinger Berger Nigeria GmbH developed customised designs for bridges as the bridge was embarked by the state government to help decongest the existing Lekki-Epe corridor by way of moving traffic direct from Ikoyi to the Peninsula without having to drive through the torturous Falomo Bridge via Ozumba Mbadiwe Avenue in Victoria Island.'We provide Julius Berger Nigeria with materials and equipment that are difficult or impossible to procure inside the country. We thus provide logistical and planning support for the construction of the Lekki-lkoyi Bridge in Lagos,' Seitz said.Also according to one of the site engineers, Segun Ajibola, engineering specifications length of approach road from at Ikoyi will be 338 metres. Walkways on both sides of the bridge are put at 2.3metres as width of the bridge (carriageway) stands at 8 metres x 2 metres.It would be also recalled that the sum of N10 billion was reported released by the Lagos State Government in 2009 to Messrs. Julius Berger Plc, towards the execution of two major infrastructure development projects in the bustling city.The projects include the expansion of the Eric Moore-Mile 2 Road (which is the initial leg of the multi-billion-naira, multi-phase Lagos-Badagry Expressway rehabilitation scheme) as well as the Lekki-Ikoyi Link Bridge (connecting Lekki Peninsular Scheme I with Osborne Road in Ikoyi).
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