The federal government has announced that the Second Niger Bridge will open to traffic on December 15.
The federal controller of works in Delta, Jimoh Olawale, said this in an interview with NAN on Wednesday.
However, he added that the bridge would only be used for one month.
He asserts that Babatunde Fashola, the minister of works and housing, ordered the 95% finished bridge to be opened to ease traffic over the holidays.
“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 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.”
Claims that the federal government had stopped compensating landowners along the route to the new Niger Bridge were refuted by Olawale.
He clarified that the government had not seized any private property along the Okpanam-Ibusa-Asaba-Oko bypass to the new bridge but had merely notified the owners that their buildings were within the government right-of-way.
The comptroller reported that plans were being made to determine how compensations would be dispersed.
According to Olawale, “Messrs C.O. Akpabor and Company” has been hired to “enumerate the properties for compensation” on the government’s behalf.
“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.
“The federal government verification team have visited and submitted its report to Abuja, and the government will pay all compensation before work commences on the access road.”
In a statement released on May 22, 2023, Olawale assured residents that the government would finish building the 17-kilometre access road by May 29, 2023.
According to Fashola, in October, the roads leading up to the bridge were still in the works.
“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 had said.