FG declares the emergency of the bridge, plans for robotic inspections at national level

The Federal Government has declared a “bridge emergency” at national level and is intended to distribute robotic machines to inspect underwater portions of bridges throughout Nigeria, in a decisive move to improve the safety of infrastructure and reduce maintenance costs.

The Minister of Works, Senator Dave Umahi, made the disclosure on Sunday during a meeting of the parties concerned on section 2 of the Highway project of Lagos-Calabar.

Umahi said that the Federal Government has concluded the plans to acquire high -tech robotic diving machines to replace the current method of taking human underwater for submarine assessments, which has described as “unsustainable and expensive”.

“We will identify a type of robotic machine that will be able to dive to allow us to see everything that happens under water in all our bridges,” he said.

The minister revealed that the government is working with Danny Abund, CEO of Hitech Construction Company, to facilitate the supply of machines.

He explained that the initiative was driven by the alarming state of many bridges in the country, most of which, he said, have not undergone complete structural assessments since they were built over 50 years ago.

“We want to declare, I don’t know the word to use – the bridge emergency – on our bridges, to find out what is going on 53 years after building these bridges, not only in Lagos but at national level,” said Umahi.

In a related development, Umahi has announced a new directive of the Federal Executive Council that prohibited the dredging activities within 10 kilometers of any bridge in the country.

He mentioned recent discoveries around the third continental bridge in Lagos, where illegal dredging represented a serious structural risk.

“We saw Dragaggio on that third continental bridge and Julius Berger had warned that, if this dredging continued, that bridge would have collapsed,” he warned.

Umahi explained that most of the bases of the bridge in Lagos depends on the “cutaneous” friction systems based on sand.

He observed that the removal of the surrounding sand through dredging can destabilize the batteries, potentially bringing to catastrophic structural failures.

“All Lagos batteries are retained by the friction of the skin … if you remove the sand, the batteries will start to dangling and is very dangerous,” he warned.

To enforce the new security measures, Umahi has asked for an intensified collaboration with the Nigerian Navy to monitor and stop the illegal dredging and filling the sand around the country’s waterways.

The minister also revealed that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu would start commissioning infrastructure projects completed from May 1, 2025.

He assured the Nigerians that both the new and inherited projects are receiving adequate attention to the current administration.

“I want the Nigerians to have hope in the renewed administration of hope while we are building for the future,” said Umahi.

The Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, a top project of the Tinubu Administration, should open new corridors for economic growth and will facilitate transport along the southern coast of Nigeria.

With the declaration of an emergency of the bridge and the introduction of robotic inspections, the federal government is reporting a renewed commitment to the safety of infrastructure and technological innovation.

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