Less than two months after a construction company, Julius Berger Nigeria Limited, repaired the expansion joints at the Longbridge section of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, PUNCH Metro reports that the joints have reopened.
A visit by our correspondent to the five-kilometre bridge showed that floodwater had washed off the tar on the expansion joints.
It was observed that the bridge, which stretched from the Warewa end of the expressway to OPIC, had potholes at almost all expansion joints.
The bridge was among the first sections of the road to be reconstructed when the project started.
PUNCH Metro had earlier reported that motorists slammed the construction company for doing what they described as a “shoddy job” on the bridge.
Some days after the report, the company repaired the damaged joints.
But when our correspondent revisited the bridge on Tuesday, it was discovered that motorists and truck drivers avoided the potholes, while some rammed into it.
Our reporter, who walked the entire length of the bridge inward Ogun, counted 16 expansion joints that had degenerated into potholes, as the tar on the bridge had peeled off.
Drivers said the reappearance of potholes indicated the inability of the construction company to find a lasting solution to the problem.
They noted that the company had, at different times, repaired the joints, but the problem persisted.
A bus driver, Ganiyu Shomekun, said the construction company should repair the bad portions before they became worse.
Shomekun said, “It is surprising that the same thing keeps happening on the Longbridge. I think the construction company needs to find the best way to solve the problem.”
A car owner, John Ade, said the bridge was an embarrassment to the reputation of the company.
He said, “Each time I drive through that bridge, I wonder how Julius Berger is proud to associate with such a bad job. They can’t do this in their country. This is far below par.”
According to a construction expert, Olayinka Olatunji, the repairs of the joints do not last because due process is not followed during construction.
He said, “A little gap is permissible at the joints, but if it’s a depression, it has to be repaired and due process has to be followed.”
When contacted, the supervisor in charge of the Lagos-Sagamu section of the expressway, Wale Adebote, said the construction company only did a temporary rehabilitation on the joints.
Adebote said the permanent repair of the expansion joints had begun on the Kara Bridge and would soon be extended to the Longbridge.
He said, “The expansion joints on the Longbridge have not been worked on; they were given temporary repairs. They are still coming back to fix them permanently; what we did was just a palliative.
“As you have told me now, we will quickly carry out the remedy so that it will not disturb or create panic. We have started work on Kara; we will still get to that Longbridge, and everything will be fixed permanently.”
An official of Julius Berger, identified only as Seun, declined comment and refused to give our correspondent the contact of someone who could speak on the matter.
