The federal government has ordered the opening of the second Niger bridge for use, in order to ease traffic in the south-east region during the festive season.
The bridge was officially opened around 12:01 am on Thursday, December 15.
The federal government, last week, announced that the project would be opened to traffic on December 15, 2022.
Babatunde Fashola, minister of works and housing, while making this known on Wednesday, December 14, at the inauguration of the bridge, said that it will be opened for use for one month during the yuletide.
He noted that the bridge would be closed to traffic on January 15, 2023.
The minister also urged motorists plying the bridge to drive safely and responsibly in order not to defeat the purpose of constructing the project, The Punch reports.
Fashola said that President Muhammadu Buhari’s purpose of completing the bridge was to save lives and alleviate poverty caused by wasted hours resulting from gridlock on the first Niger bridge.
He said that the opening of the second Niger bridge would reduce the sufferings of commuters who always experienced traffic congestion during the yuletide.
The minister said that, “A lot of people have talked about a solution but the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration showed desperation to build the bridge.
“So, wherever the funds came from, investment income, from our oil assets, or repatriation of some funds that were stolen out of Nigeria came in from the US, we are seeing the result now.
“When people are talking about poverty, the biggest part of it is not the monetary aspect, but the multidimensional poverty.
“When you spend two to three days trying to cross a bridge, that’s poverty, because it should take just a few minutes so that you can go and do more productive things.
“The president said that we should create an access road so that during Christmas, Nigerians can begin to experience what it would feel like plying the bridge.
“The maximum speed limit on Nigerian roads is 100km per hour. Don’t drive 101km per hour.
“The President will be happy to see users drive safely and responsibly while using this road especially during this Christmas and new year seasons.
“The bridge would be open for traffic going from the west to the east from December 15, 2022 to January 15, 2023.
“We haven’t finished construction work on the bridge but we would open it for people to use to relive the pressure.
“On the 15th of January, 2023, we would reverse that movement for those coming from the east to the west,” he added.
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