The Federal Government (FG) has announced that the second Niger bridge will be open to traffic on December 15, adding that the bridge would be open for only 30 days and is 95 percent close to completion. This was disclosed in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday by Jimoh Olawale, the Federal Controller of Works in Delta State.
He said the partial opening of the bridge was a result of directives from the Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola.
According to Olawale, “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.
“We have notified the state government of this arrangement and we are working with the Federal Road 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”.
Construction of the second Niger bridge began on September 2018 and is projected to cost about N336 billion.
The 1.6 kilometers long bridge stretches from Asaba in Delta state to several communities in Anambra state.
