Concerns over Ijora-Apapa Bridge

Lately, experts have expressing concerns over the indiscriminate parking of heavy-duty trucks on the Ijora-Apapa bridge, saying it risks collapse if nothing is done urgently by the government, Davidson Iriekpen writes

All over the world, bridges are built or constructed over roads, railroads or rivers to facilitate movement of people and vehicles from one side to the other. This was exactly why the Ijora-Apapa bridges and flyovers were constructed by the federal government – to facilitate vehicular movement into and out of the ports. But today, these bridges and flyovers have turned parks for heavy-duty trucks and tankers carrying dry and wet cargoes in and out of Apapa on a daily basis.

Experts have estimated that over 5,000 container-laden trucks, petroleum tankers and other articulated trucks move on the bridge every day. They noted for instance that the total weight of 25 stationary trucks on a bridge could be around 450,000 kilogrammes. For this reason, they have been expressing fears and calling on the government not to allow these heavy-duty vehicles to park on the bridge anymore.

In the last eight years, these container-laden trucks, petroleum tankers and other articulated trucks are seen parking and awaiting for their slots to enter Apapa to either convey or discharge goods at the ports. Sometimes, some of the trucks spend as much as four days on the bridge without challenge from the authorities.

Due to the total collapse of the Oshodi-Apapa Expressway, especially from the Mile 2 axis so much pressure has been put on the Apapa-Ijora bridge. This is why observers have described the neglect of the all-important bridge which is a major gateway to the nation’s major seaports and second largest revenue earner for the government as baffling.

Lately, at the risk of sounding alarmists or prophet of doom, these experts renewed their call on the government to permanently stop these heavy-duty vehicles from parking on the bridge.

Another problem they pointed out on the bridge is the number of craters and potholes on it. They, therefore, called for the total resurfacing of the entire bridge with asphalt.

For instance, an engineer, Philip Edegbai, said the Apapa bridges are at risk of collapse because of the weight of parked heavy-duty trucks on them. He added that the bridges are under great stress from immobile articulated vehicles, a situation worsened by recurring gridlocks and the deplorable state of roads leading to ports and tank farms.

Taking time to break it down, Edegbai said: “An empty 20-feet container weighs 2,000 kilogrammes. A 40-feet container doubles the kilogrammes. With an average truck weighing about 14,000 kilogrammes, the total weight of 25 stationary trucks on a bridge for instance, could be around 450,000 kilogrammes. This is besides the weight of other vehicles. The implication is that the bridges in Apapa could be carrying several million kilogrammes of weight daily.”

Also, a consistent campaigner for the rehabilitation of the bridge, Afolabi Adedeji, called for urgent federal government attention if a disaster of monumental dimension is to be averted. Adedeji, managing director of Ethical Business and Management Associates, warned that the continued delay in attending to the dilapidating bridge has made it a disaster in the waiting. According to him, the bridge is one that requires regular checks and maintenance because of pressure coming from the volume of traffic it carries. He warned that Lagos, having evolved from capital city to economic nerve centre of West Africa, the economy of Nigeria would be at risk “if the bridge was allowed to get to a point of failure. If this happens in the morning, the casualty figures will be unimaginable,” Adedeji warned, adding that it was time the Federal Ministry of Works urgently stepped in.

A structural engineer and former President of the Nigerian Institution of Structural Engineers (NIStructE), Victor Oyenuga, said: “It is not right for trucks and tankers to park on bridges because the bridges were not designed as parks for them.

When these vehicles are stationary on the bridges for a long time, they have negative impacts. These include deterioration, bridge-fatigue, damage or even collapse.

“There is also the risk of fire outbreak. If any of the articulated vehicles catches fire, there would be a chain reaction, which can cause severe damage to the bridge. We are sitting on a keg of gunpowder because the bridges are weakening by the day, as tankers, trucks and articulated vehicles park on them due to traffic congestion. The load on these bridges, not originally designed to host heavy static vehicles, and a lack of consistent and thorough maintenance could spell tragedy”.

The past president of NIStructE who noted that bridges are designed for movement of goods and services said, “So, as structural engineers, we condemn this indiscriminate parking of trucks and tankers on bridges. It is not advisable, and we urge the government to address the issue. Something should be done to stop it very fast because of the negative effect on the infrastructure and possible disaster in the event of a collapse”.

Also commenting on the situation, past president of NIStructE, Dr. Samuel Ilugbekhai, said the state of the bridges is one of gross structural abuse, stressing that they were not designed to bear enormous weight from static trailers and tankers, and warned that their life spans could be shortened. Urging government to put more effort into solving the problem, he noted the difference between buildings that house car parks and bridges.

While multi-storey parks are designed for the specific purpose, bridges are intended to carry transitional loads within seconds. “They are not designed to retain loads for one hour, two hours, days or weeks,” Ilugbekhai said.

Last Sunday, during a courtesy visit to the Lagos office of the News Agency of Nigeria, the Society of Energy Administrators (SEA) raised the alarm over threat of collapse of several Lagos bridges due to the weight of articulated vehicles parking indiscriminately on them. SEA executives, led by its President, Dr Yekeen Adeboye, said several bridges risk collapse due to long time menace of indiscriminate parking.

He also lamented that most of the bridges had been burnt by fire on several occasions causing the government to invest so much in repairs with the threats still existing.

“Any of the bridges could collapse at any moment. We are always relying on God, what are we doing about it?’’ he said.

He also called for community and border security to ensure safety in Lagos State and its infrastructure were well policed to guide against encroachment, vandalism and destruction.

“Under the bridges are not supposed to be inhabited by anyone, living in a place where you are not supposed to be is a crime,“ he said.

The SEA members called for fortification of the Nigerian Ports Authority’s (NPA’s) Electronic Call up System to tackle the menace while appealing to the federal government to give incentives to the private sector to construct truck parks. The members took turns to proffer other solutions which included reintroduction of night movement for articulated vehicles in Lagos and other parts of the country to reduce daytime pressure on highways.

A Lebanese businessman in Apapa who begged not to have his name in print, exploded as he wondered why the government would allow heavy-duty trucks to be parking on the bridge everyday, every night and every month. He added that besides parking, the entire stretch of the bridge needs to be resurfaced with asphalt for easy drive.

“I have travelled round the world, nowhere have I ever seen thousands of container-laden trucks, petroleum tankers and other articulated trucks parking at the same time on a bridge and they are unchallenged except in Nigeria. This is not only lawlessness taken too far, it is equally very dangerous. When the bridge comes down, Nigerians will begin to apportion blame as they usually do.”