Second Niger Bridge: completion date shifted 

The completion date for the second Niger Bridge has been postponed to the first quarter of 2024. 

What was the previous date? 

The bridge, whose construction started five years ago and which links Delta and Anambra States, was previously scheduled to be completed in October 2022. The  Acting Federal Controller of Works in Anambra State,  Mr. Seyi Martins, disclosed the new projected completion date when members of the Council for Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN) toured the bridge. 

What stage is the construction now? 

According to Martins, noted that the first phase of the project -the bridge proper – has substantially been completed, and work on the bridge has reached 95% completion. Martins said that the remaining 5% of the job was the final asphalt surfacing on the Asaba end carriageway lane, adding that the streetlights, handrails, and parapet wall have been completed. 

Why’s the 5% going to take more than a year to complete? 

“The bridge project was expected to be delivered by the end of December 2022, but there is a second phase which is a 3.3km road approach on the Delta side and 7km of approach road on the Anambra side that is yet to commence”, Martins said. He, however, noted that the government has deemed it fit that upon completion of the first phase, which is expected soon, the bridge will be open to traffic.