The Minister of Works, David Umahi, has directed that approval for sand mining beneath bridges in Lagos State should be restricted to a minimum distance of 10km from the centre of any bridge in the state.
Umahi declared that any operator who contravenes the 10km-minimum dredging rule would be arrested.
He disclosed this at a stakeholder’s meeting on compensation payments to property owners affected by the Lagos-Calabar coastal highway project in Lagos on Wednesday.
He said, “Yesterday, we were alerted to a dredging company that is dredging sand about 1.2 kilometres from the Third Mainland Bridge which is very dangerous for the bridge. Already, we have incurred a lot of damages because of the mining of sand, and so I have directed that all sand dredging must be a minimum of 10km from the centre of any bridge nationwide, and we are going to be sending a memo to Mr President and the Federal Executive Council to adopt that.
“When you do dredging of sand from even 1km, 2km, 5km, you have created a depth within that point, and so there would be migration of sands from a far distance under the ocean current to fill it, you know the level of water at any point in time is the same, and that is why you see above sea level.
“Sand is being filled by ocean current, the piles we have in all our Lagos bridges are being secured by sand holding the piles, and so when you are harvesting this sand, they begin to go away from the piles, and so the piles are left with nothing holding it, which is very dangerous.”
Umahi emphasised said law enforcement agencies had been directed to arrest any sand miner that contravenes the 10km minimum rule.
He added, “We have directed that all mining of sand within our bridges should be within a minimum of 10km, already we have structural defects within Third Mainland Bridge and Carter Bridge, and we are addressing it.
“Hence, all approval from the mining of sand around our bridges within 10km, from the centre, left and right, and front and back, should henceforth stop, and I have directed the Federal Controller of Works for Lagos State, Olukorede Keisha, to write to the Commissioner of Police, Navy, and Army, for the arrest of anybody who contravenes this. It is very difficult to reconstruct these bridges if they go.”
Umahi had said that closed-circuit television and solar lights would be installed on the Third Mainland Bridge by June to check the activities of illegal miners under bridges.
Umahi said this after a routine inspection of the under-deck project at Iddo Bridge, Carter Bridge, and the Third Mainland bridges in Lagos.
He said, “Berger is the contractor doing the Iddo Bridge, Carter Bridge, and Third Mainland Bridge, and we have seen the pace of work made and are happy with it, also we have promised to increase the pace of work against the incoming lagoon tide in June.
“On top of the bridges, we have almost finished the deck job, though we are extending the deck job, and then we are also constructing CCTV and observation room. Then, below the deck, we are working on the piers, and then, we now see the pier caps. These are the works that are going on under the deck.”
The minister said that the Federal Government had taken proactive measures to address the condition of the piles supporting the Third Mainland Bridge, adding that erosion and illegal mining had damaged the piles, and a consultant would be contacted on the repairs.
He added, “We are working on several bridges we inherited, we inherited construction work on Eko Bridge, Marina Bridge, Liverpool Bridge, Iganmu Bridge, and Independence Bridge, all done by Buildwell.”
Umahi noted that one major work was going to be looked at; hence meeting with Julius Berger would ensue.
He noted, “We will be doing a meeting with Julius Berger tomorrow to look at one of the most serious and challenging jobs, and that is the work that is right below the pier caps, that is the piles and then the deck beds.
“As I have always said, the piles are being held by the skin friction of the sand, of which some of these sands have been eroded over the years, and illegal mining also contributed to the erosion of the piles.
“Some of the piles have rusted which has gotten to the concrete piles, and some of the reinforcements of the concrete piles are exposed. In 2013, there was an examination of all the piles of the Third Mainland Bridge, in 2014, there was a repeat, but about 40 per cent, and so we are procuring consultants together with Julius Berger to look at what is going on there. In addition, we are working with Berger and other international companies on how to design the remedy.
According to him, the installation of the cameras/solar system will be ready by June 2024.
He added, “There is no solar on Carter Bridge yet, but we would like to do what is being done on Third Mainland Bridge on Carter Bridge, and as much as budgetary provisions would allow, a lot of the bridges in Lagos need attention, not just in Lagos, all over the country, of which I would give attention to.
Olaitan Ibrahim