Commuters hail plan to construct additional footbridge at Ojota

Commuters in the Ojota area who usually use the Ojota pedestrian bridge have commended the plan by the Lagos State government to construct an additional bridge in the area to ease the hardship currently being experienced by residents and pedestrians.  Eko Trust reports that following the construction of a metal barricade at the middle of […]

Commuters in the Ojota area who usually use the Ojota pedestrian bridge have commended the plan by the Lagos State government to construct an additional bridge in the area to ease the hardship currently being experienced by residents and pedestrians.
 Eko Trust reports that following the construction of a metal barricade at the middle of the expressway from Ojota to Ketu which prevented pedestrians from crossing the road, there has been much pressure on the Ojota footbridge due to the increase in the number of people who now use bridge to cross to the other side of the road, leading to congestion on the bridge in recent time. Pedestrians now spend hours on the queue to be able to use the sole bridge.
 The Lagos State government on Thursday, however, said that an additional footbridge would be constructed to ease the hardship being experienced by pedestrians at Ojota. Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Steve Ayorinde, who disclosed this in a statement, said the decision was borne out of the need to reduce the long time being spent on the queue by people using the bridge.
 He said the construction of the additional bridge had become necessary after the newly-erected New Jersey Wall on the median of the expressway had effectively curtailed indiscriminate dropping and picking of passengers by commercial vehicles along the highway as well as dangerous crossing of the road on foot by commuters.
 Ayorinde urged commuters to be patient with government until the new bridge was constructed and delivered within three months, adding that the new bridge would accommodate the special needs of the physically-challenged, for their ease of movement.
 A commuter, Mr Ayodele Adeshina, said that the government’s plan on the additional bridge was a welcome development. He, however, said that the government should have constructed the additional bridge before putting the metal barricade on the expressway.
 “It is good that they are constructing a new bridge to ease the hardship, but they should hasten it because people cannot endure the present hardship for long,” he added.
 Another frequent user of the Ojota footbridge, Mr Uche Sunday, spoke in the same vein. He said an additional bridge would ease the pressure on the old one and also reduce the hardship of residents who now queued for a long time before crossing the road. 
 Alhaja Sekinatu Muraino, a trader at Ojota bus stop, however, advised the government, “They should ensure that the new footbridge is up to international standard, and not one that would be abandoned after a few years of use due to poor and rushed construction.”