Picture: Her Excellency, Nigeria’s First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu
By Ebuka Onyekwelu, Ph.D
The Anambra State Government has assured residents and visitors of seamless movement across the state on Thursday, September 10, despite the ongoing closure of the First Niger Bridge for major maintenance works.
The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Anambra State Road Traffic Management Agency (ARTMA), Engr. Emeka Okonkwo, gave the assurance ahead of the official visit of Nigeria’s First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, to the state.
Okonkwo declared that there would be “zero traffic on Thursday”, expressing confidence in the agency’s preparedness and the capacity of its personnel to effectively manage traffic during the First Lady’s visit.
The First Niger Bridge, which was closed by the Federal Government on Monday, September 7, is expected to remain shut until September 21 to allow for major maintenance works.
Senator Tinubu’s visit, which is her first official visit to Anambra State, is expected to attract several national dignitaries. During the visit, she will commission the Southeast Food Bank in Anambra, an ICT hub at the Federal Polytechnic, Oko, and participate in the empowerment of thousands of women and elderly persons in collaboration with Anambra’s First Lady, Dr. Nonye Soludo.
Speaking on measures put in place to cushion the impact of the Niger Bridge closure, Okonkwo said the state government had moved quickly to ensure that alternative routes were made motorable.
According to him, ARTMA first identified all possible diversion routes for motorists entering or leaving Anambra before liaising with the Ministry of Works to ensure that the roads were put in good condition.
“The major thing is that all diversion roads are 100 per cent usable. We first of all identified all the possible diversions where we could divert vehicles either coming into Anambra or leaving Anambra.
“After that, we liaised with the Ministry of Works to make sure that those roads are completely usable. So, palliatives have been done. If those roads are bad, it will seriously affect movement,” he said.
Okonkwo explained that ARTMA was also paying particular attention to informing motorists about the closure before they get to the Bridgehead, noting that late diversion could worsen traffic congestion.
He said ARTMA had deployed personnel and installed road signs at strategic locations to direct motorists to alternative routes.
“Let people coming into Anambra know that Bridgehead is blocked because it’s worse when drivers move all the way towards the Bridgehead and then find out that it is blocked; diversion then becomes harder,” he said.
According to him, motorists travelling from Awka towards Bridgehead would begin to see diversion signs before the Nkpor/New Parts Flyover, directing them to alternative routes linking the Second Niger Bridge through Obosi.
He added that motorists could also divert at the foot of the Upper Iweka Flyover through Owerri Road and subsequently link up with the Second Niger Bridge.
A third option, he said, was available to motorists already close to Bridgehead, who could use the Hero Factory Road to access the Second Niger Bridge.
“We expect the commercial vehicle drivers operating from Bridgehead to use this option,” the ARTMA boss said.
On the possible traffic challenges during the First Lady’s visit, Okonkwo expressed optimism that Thursday’s activities would not significantly affect traffic because most of the programmes were not connected to Onitsha or the Niger Bridge axis.
He, however, cautioned that managing traffic during the entire period of the bridge closure would be more challenging.
“For Thursday, there is absolutely no issue with traffic management because the activities are mostly unconnected with Onitsha or the Niger Bridge.
“But for the remaining twelve days that the First Niger Bridge will be closed, it is not going to be easy. We will do our best to manage traffic to ensure that people keep moving. With that, we can achieve our goal for the next two weeks,” Okonkwo concluded.
Tags: Anambra, Niger Bridge, ARTMA, Oluremi Tinubu
