History Made as Second Niger Bridge Opens to Vehicular Movements, 1st Man to Drive Through Shares Experience
- Finally, the Second Niger Bridge was opened to vehicular movements on Thursday, December 15, at 9.50am
- Sunday Emem, the first driver to pass through the bridge, shared his experience, noting that he was happy over the development
- The Second Niger Bridge is 1.6 kilometres long and it links Anambra state in the southeast and Delta state in the south-south
Anambra - History was made on Thursday, December 15, as the much-awaited Second Niger Bridge was finally opened to vehicular movements.
According to a report by Channels Television, the bridge was open at exactly 9:50am on Thursday.
Source: Twitter
Legit.ng gathers that the opening was a little behind schedule as the federal government had earlier promised the bridge would be opened at 12am.
An unnamed government official said the delay was as a result of some little adjustments on the roads linking the bridge.
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Second Niger Bridge: First man to drive through shares experience
The first driver to pass through the bridge, Sunday Emem, expressed delight, noting that the new infrastructure will reduce hours spent on the road during trips.
“I feel so happy, at least it will reduce the hold-up. We’ve stayed over one hour at the other bridge,” he said.
Obinna Eze, the second driver to pass through the bridge, urged the present administration to complete it before May 2023.
“It is a reality, though it is not 100% complete, so far what we are seeing is impressive. We commend the present administration and we hope they complete it based on the time frame,” Eze said.
Legit.ng recalls that the minister of works and housing, Babatunde Fashola (SAN), had earlier disclosed that the Second Niger Bridge would be open to traffic from December 15, 2022, to January 15, 2023 to ease the experience of travellers during Yuletide break.
What you should know about the Second Niger Bridge
The 1.6 kilometres long bridge links Anambra and Delta states.
The Second Niger Bridge was first proposed during the 1978/79 political campaign by then-candidate Shehu Shagari of the National Party of Nigeria (NPN).
However, in August 2012, the Federal Executive Council under then-President Goodluck Jonathan approved a contract worth N325 million for the final planning and design of the bridge.
Due to some complications, President Muhammad Buhari upon assuming office cancelled the earlier contract in August 2015.
The administration, however, resumed the contract on September 1, 2018.
Buhari's govt finally completes Second Niger Bridge
Meanwhile, the federal government on Wednesday, October 19, announced that the construction of the 2nd Niger bridge has been completed.
This was announced by the minister of works and housing, Babatunde Fashola, during a press conference on President Muhammadu Buhari's achievements.
Fashola also disclosed that the bridge will be opened to the public for use in no time.
Source: Legit.ng
