SPECIAL REPORT: THE FALOMO ON-RAMP BRIDGE

Falomo On-Ramp: Connecting the City.

By Olumide T. Agunbiade 

 Unlike the Pyrenees, which separates the Iberian Peninsula from the rest of Europe, the Falomo On-Ramp Bridge connects two areas of Lagos metropolis—Ikoyi and Victoria Island. The Bridge was jointly financed by the state and private sector in consonance with the Lagos State government’s Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) model on infrastructural development.

The facility which stretches some 115m in length, features a post tensioned (or pre-stressed) ramp sited on five piers, each resting on four piles was constructed by Lekki Concession Company (LCC) and provides a dual purpose of highways and walkways for road users.

Before the bridge was constructed, Ikoyi bound motorists from Lekki had to undergo the torture of the traffic congestion before making a left turn at the busy intersection leading to Adeyemo Alakija street and then make a right turn to connect the Falomo bridge.

The curved arc bridge is the first ever bridge structure of this scale and magnitude anywhere in Nigeria that has been constructed by a private investor under the Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) model. The bridge which was unveiled on October 6, 2011 by Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola had dominated discussions among construction industry practitioners, who expressed concern over the project cost.

According to the experts, a bridge that is barely a fraction of a kilometer in length is rather expensive at its N2.5 billion price tag unlike the third mainland bridge which was built in 1990 by Julius Berger Nigeria and measures 11.8 km in length at a cost of about N500 million at a period when N4 was equivalent to a dollar.

“In most cases, we have not succeeded in separating design from costing, as the design end up preparing the Bill of Quantities (BOQs), a situation that leads to questionable project costing,’ says Seun Ajenlekoko, the President of the Association of Professional Bodies of Nigeria (APBN), ‘There should be independent costing by qualified personnel to avoid corrupt tendencies.”

The quality of the facility however, is unquestionable due to the technology inputs applied and the quality of the materials used by the Lekki Concession Company (LCC) from commencement to completion of the project. “Void formers were used to reduce the overall dead weight of the deck by effectively removing unwanted concrete,’ says LCC boss, Opuiyo Oforiokuma, ‘the void formers account for a reduction of over 880 tons, thereby reducing the overall dead weights to 2,650 tons. The reduced load reduces tensile stresses, which in turn reduces the amount of steel required as reinforcement.”

Also, Mr. Victor Oyenuga, president of the Nigerian Institution of Structural Engineers (NIS+rc+E) said: “The technology of post tensioning is not available in Nigeria and its inputs and machines will have to be imported. It is more expensive than ordinary reinforced concretization but, it gives a stronger bridge that can carry more loads and ensures a shorter construction period.”

Engineers at the Lekki Concession Company (LCC), which built the facility, stated that the structure “is not imposing any force on the existing bridge because it rests on a low abutment at the eastern end.”

The facility which is located on Ozumba Mbadiwe Avenue was primarily constructed to improve traffic flow and ensure road safety for all road users. “The bridge will make a significant contribution towards easing the traffic bottlenecks that have characterized this part of Victoria Island comprising Ozumba Mbadiwe Avenue, Adeyemo Alakija street intersection and others,” says Governor Babatunde Fashola.

Indeed, the walkway on the facility had provided easy access to Ikoyi from Ozumba Mbadiwe and the traffic light at the beginning of the bridge passes between 15-20 vehicles every 80 seconds easing up the traffic along Ozumba Mbadiwe by 60% and reducing walk time to Ikoyi from Law School Bus Stop by 50%.

However, there is a fresh bottleneck by the point of intersection of the facility with the main bridge, where motorists from Akin Adesola are now trying to get used to the stoppage. “Some of the motorists are impatient. They don’t like to wait for the traffic light to pass them, especially the okada riders,” says the traffic warden at the traffic light regulation point on falomo junction.

Also, the Falomo roundabout where motorist coming from Ozumba Mbadiwe and Akin Adesola connect their point of destination is another problem. “Motorists trying to navigate through the Falomo roundabout are usually intercepted by those coming from the Falomo jetty or Obafemi Awolowo,” says Mr. Sola Peters, a Pharmacist.

According to Mr. Alli, a company driver, “the Falomo On-ramp Bridge has only helped motorist from Lekki and not those from Victoria Island. Motorists from Victoria Island are waiting for the construction of the bridge from Lekki to Parkview Estate.”

  Similarly, a fourth mainland bridge, designed to link the outskirt town of Ikorodu with the Lekki Peninsula, has been proposed by the state governor whose officials estimate its cost at N160 billion and N400 billion.

The Lagos State governor said that the state government was committed to the rapid infrastructural development of all parts of the state, saying it would strengthen its partnership with the private sector to achieve the goal. Hence, road users and the general public should reciprocate governments’ gesture by making judicious use of the facility, obey traffic rules and support future projects of the government by paying their tax.