The old bridge in Lagos, closed for 40 months for ‘urgent’ repairs may soon reopen.
The council now promises a date ‘in early August’ as the extensive repairs near completion.
The work has taken since early 2012 to sort out, during which period Lagos in season has become a place to avoid if travelling by car with local businesses in despair at their council’s inability to complete a relatively simple project.
The Ponte Dona Maria II acts as an essential artery into and out of the city but as the bridge had not been maintained for decades, its closure was the only safe option while locals waited and waited for a seemingly unconcerned council to get the contractors in.
One of the delays was the inevitable application to the EU for money to repair the bridge with the council unable rely on government funds or its own resources to repair an essential section of infrastructure.
The €1 million repair bill was covered 65% by the EU.
The bridge has traces of Roman construction, there is no precise date for its original construction, and suffered major damage during the 1755 earthquake and was rebuilt in 1783. The last major repair work was around 1960.
See also:
http://www.algarvedailynews.com/news/2387-lagos-bridge-rebuild-finally-approved
