The Lagos State Government has said that the construction of Fourth Mainland Bridge would still begin this year.

The state Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr Steve Ayorinde, gave the assurance in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Lagos.

The commissioner, however, did not mention any specific time of the year for the commencement of the project.

He told NAN that the state government was committed to the proposed project. The construction of the bridge is accommodated in the state’s 2017 Budget and about N844 billion has been earmarked for it.

About 800 structures and shanties will be affected by the construction of the bridge to be carried out under a Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) arrangement.

The construction of the bridge will be coming 50 years after the state’s existence and 26 years after the delivery of the Third Mainland Bridge by the ex-military President Ibrahim Babangida.

NAN reports that the idea of the 4th mainland bridge first came up during the Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration, about 14 years ago.

In May 2015, Gov. Akinwunmi Ambode signed a Memorandum of Understanding with a consortium of firms and finance houses for the construction of the bridge.

During its conception, the government had to stop several times, when it realised that about 3,000 structures could be affected by the bridge’s right of way. To continue the construction, a new alignment design concept was produced to save about 2,200 houses from being destroyed.

The project, when completed, will give birth to the longest of all the bridges connecting Lagos Island to the Mainland.

NAN reports that the bridge will pass through Lekki, Langbasa, and Baiyeku towns – on the Lagoon estuaries – to Itamaga, in Ikorodu.

The bridge will serve as a complement to the Eko, Carter and Third Mainland Bridges and help to reduce traffic.

The bridge is expected to have a four-lane dual carriage way. (NAN)

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