Work begins on Fourth Mainland Bridge

The Lagos State Government, led by Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola will be building a 26-kilometre infrastructure to link Ikorodu to the state’s economic hub in Eti-Osa Local Government Area of the state.
Disclosing this new development recently in Lagos, the state Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, Obafemi Hamzat explained that people might not see the physical work now but work has started in earnest internally on the major project.

He said, “People may not see the physical work at all for now. A bridge is not what we can jump in there and start to build. But internally, a lot have been going on, the preliminary work has actually started.”
The Commissioner stated that if state government is to start work with the old alignment, a good number of buildings might be affected, hence, the state government needed to come up with a new plan.
In his words, “It’s becoming a bit
cumbersome because of the number of buildings on the right of way. It might be extremely destructive if we want to follow the old alignment. We might probably need to destroy a lot of good buildings. This option is not fanciful to us. So, we have to look at another right of way.
“Consultants are working on the new right of way. We will look at the cost-benefit analysis of the alignment that will be cost-effective. We are considering if it is better to pay compensation than going through another alignment. The experts are already working on it, and the report will come out soon.”
Hamzart further noted the need
to meet with all stakeholders and people whose buildings would be affected in order to discuss the issues of compensation and resolve other issues
that might lead to litigation while developing the infrastructure.
“If there are 50 buildings on the right of way, we have to determine their cost. We also need to talk to people that will be affected.”
“The fact that the state wants to pay
compensation does not mean somebody will not go to court. So, we need to engage internally without people knowing what is happening. We need to know the owners of the buildings. We need to talk to them and arrive at a conclusion. So, it depends on how responsive the people are,” he said.