A new bridge planned to span almost 24 miles costing £2.3bn with eight lanes and three toll booths is set to be built in Africa.
Fourth Mainland Bridge in Lagos, Nigeria, will become the continent’s second-longest bridge when it opens in 2027, with authorities hoping it will ease congestion on the Third Mainland Bridge which was built in 1990.
It will be built by the CCECC-CRCCIG consortium, led by the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation, with each carriageway made up of four lanes taking traffic from Lagos Island across the Lagos Lagoon to Ikorodu.
The Chinese group beat out six other bidders to get the contract for the project. Government officials had hoped to have the bridge up and running by 2019, but the project saw a number of delays and work is still yet to begin.
When construction finally does begin, it is thought some 800 homes will need to be demolished to make way for the bridge, a significantly lower amount than the 4,000 originally proposed by the Nigerian government.
Construction companies are planning to align the bridge with eight existing roads including the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway and Igbogbo-Lagos road.
Once it is complete, drivers will be able to nip across it at high speed with a speed limit of 75mph in place.
Those using public transport will be able to travel across it even quicker, with a Bus Rapid Transit Lane allowing buses to negate heavy traffic at the bridge’s nine interchanges.
It is hoped that as well as easing traffic on the Third Mainland Bridge, the bridge will also complement the existing Eko and Carter bridges in the area.
Once built, the bridge will operate under a Design, Build, Finance, Operate, Maintain and Transfer (DBFOMT) model for the Lagos State Government.
