Second Niger Bridge ready June 2022, says FG

The Federal Government says the second Niger Bridge will be completed by the second quarter of 2022.

Federal Controller of Works in Anambra State, Mr Adeyemo Ajani, disclosed this on Friday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Awka.

According to him, the contractor handling the project is on-site and has been working uninterruptedly. This is after a cumulative one-year delay as a result of COVID-19 lockdown and issues with contract affected communities.

However, he said these issues have been sorted out and that hopefully the job would be delivered in the second quarter of 2022.

“Job is still on course, the Federal Government has never relented and the contractor is working hard to deliver the project by the second quarter of next year,” he said.

On the Enugu-Onitsha expressway, Ajani said work has been completed on the Enugu bound lane from Umunya to Awka and that work would commence on the Enugu bound lane in January.

Meanwhile, he decried the effect of multiple checkpoints on the Onitsha-Owerri expressway on the free flow of traffic.

He said the Police should vacate the highway to enable Motorists to move without hassles and come up with more modern approaches to checking crime.

Ajani, who regretted the stretch of gridlock on the roads, said the aim of fixing the roads is to ensure that people traveled without difficulty, especially during the Christmas and New Year periods.

“Onitsha-Owerri road is in good shape apart from where contractors are working around the Idemili bridge, but there is a police checkpoint there that is a traffic challenge.

“They don’t seem to understand the importance of the free flow of traffic, the roadblocks mounted on that road constitute a nuisance, sometimes the traffic stretch from Oba to that bridge.

“They should relax these checkpoints and allow free flow of traffic around the state, especially during this Yuletide period,” he said.