Kenneth Afor
A low bed trailer conveying an excavator has damaged three flyover bridges on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.
Mr. Olaseni Bakare, the Federal Controller of Works in Ogun, confirmed the incident on Saturday.
The affected bridges include Alapako, Fidiwo, and Saapade flyovers.
According to Bakare, the height of the trailer conveying the excavator was higher than the headroom of the bridges, thereby hitting the structures and causing serious damage.
He said the driver tried forcing the vehicle through and in the process, damaged the bridges along the expressway, adding that the Alapako bridge was badly damaged.
“A low bed trailer carrying an excavator, which the driver claimed was coming from Ijebu Igbo and heading to Ibeshe, has caused serious damage to three of the flyover bridges on the Lagos-Ibadan expressway.
“The height of the vehicle with the load is higher than the headroom of the bridges. From the look of the situation, the driver ran into the first bridge at Alapako at a high speed and cut through all the main beams on the Lagos bound.
“It continued to the Fidiwo bridge and forced his way through, and causing damage to some of the main beams.
“While the vehicle passed under the Ishara bridge with some scratches on the main beams, he got stuck under the Saapade bridge,” Bakare said.
The driver of the excavator has since been arrested after the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC).
M/S RCC Nigeria Limited, the contractor executing the project on the expressway, have been instructed to close the Alapako bridge to traffic as soon as possible because of the extent of the damage.
Bakare noted that efforts were on to disengage the vehicle from the bridge before being towed to the Ode Remo police station.
NAN
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