As a student of civil engineering at the University of Lagos, I vividly remember my fascination at watching the construction of the Third Mainland Bridge. I would sit down at the lagoon front and observe with rapt attention at how Julius Berger’s engineers and workers were using cranes and other wonderful equipment I was seeing for the first time in piecing together the jigsaw puzzle of what is now the Third Mainland Bridge. What a wonderful time to be a student of civil engineering who loves watching construction works with the same fascination of a football fan watching the Premier League.

There was this rumor then that the Babangida government wanted to construct a connecting bridge from the Third Mainland Bridge to Unilag, but the University administration objected to that proposal. I do not know if this was true or not as fake news is as old as human existence. However, I was personally disappointed because this deprived me of seeing the construction of this historical landmark at even closer quarters.

I was very delighted when a friend and a fellow civil engineer sent me the brochure of the commissioning of the bridge by President Babangida in 1991. This 11.8 Kilometer bridge remained the longest bridge in Africa until 1996 when the 6th October Bridge located in Cairo was completed.

Im delighted to share the brochure of this historical commissioning with you.

Go to http://www.nigeriaconstructionjournal.com/2019/05/09/third-mainland-bridge-commissioning-of-a-historical-landmark/ for more pictures

Nice history.