The Federal Government has announced plans to deploy robotic machines to inspect the underwater portions of bridges across the country as part of efforts to ensure structural integrity and reduce maintenance costs.
Minister of Works, Sen. Dave Umahi, disclosed this on Sunday during a stakeholders’ engagement on Section 2 of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project.
According to him, the decision to introduce robotic diving machines stems from the high cost associated with hiring divers for underwater bridge assessments.
“We are going to locate a robotic kind of machine that will be able to do the diving to allow us to see everything happening under the water in all our bridges,” he stated.
Umahi explained that the current method of hiring divers was no longer sustainable.
“Hiring divers to go under the water to check what is happening inside is causing a lot of money,” he said.
The Minister noted that the Federal Government would be working with the Managing Director of HITECH Construction Company, Mr. Danny Abboud, to source and acquire the robotic machines.
“The Managing Director of HITECH Construction Company, Danny Abboud, would help to ‘locate that mission and then we would like to buy it’,” Umahi stated.
Nationwide ‘bridge emergency’
Umahi declared a “bridge emergency” across the country, citing the age of critical infrastructure and the need for urgent assessment of their conditions.
- He pointed out that many of the country’s bridges have been standing for over five decades without proper structural reevaluation.
“We want to declare, I don’t know the word to use, bridge emergency, on our bridges, to know what is happening 53 years after we constructed these bridges, not only in Lagos but nationwide,” he said.
- The Minister also announced that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is scheduled to commence the commissioning of several completed infrastructure projects from May 1, 2025.
- He noted that more projects would be unveiled before the end of the year, reinforcing the administration’s commitment to infrastructure development.
“I want Nigerians to have hope in the renewed hope administration as we are building for the future and inherited projects are given adequate attention,” he added.
Dredging near bridges banned
Addressing concerns about threats to bridge safety, Umahi disclosed that the Federal Executive Council has issued a directive prohibiting dredging activities within a 10km radius of any bridge nationwide.
- He said this became necessary after dangerous dredging activities were discovered near Lagos’ Third Mainland Bridge.
“We saw dredging on that Third Mainland Bridge, and Julius Berger had warned that, should this dredging continue, that bridge would collapse,” the Minister revealed.
- He explained that bridge piles in Lagos are held together by sand-based friction systems, which could become destabilised if the surrounding sand is removed through dredging.
“All the piles in Lagos are being held by skin friction. What it means is that it is sand that is holding them; so, if you remove the sand, the piles will start dangling, and it is very dangerous,” he warned.
To prevent further threats to bridge infrastructure, Umahi called for stronger collaboration with the Nigerian Navy. He said the Navy’s presence on waterways is necessary to stop illegal sand-filling and dredging activities near national bridges.
