The federal government opened the Second Niger Bridge for use during the festive season.
The bridge was opened at midnight on Thursday on the orders of the minister of works and housing, Babatunde Fashola.
The section of the bridge leading from the West to the East will remain open for one month, to ease traffic as people travel for Christmas, and would be closed on 15 January 2023.
Fashola said the opening of the bridge would reduce the sufferings of commuters who are used to traffic congestion during the yuletide.
“A lot of people have talked about a solution but the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration decided to build the bridge whatever it took,” he said.
“The result is now what we see. When people are talking about poverty, the biggest part of it is not monetary poverty, it is multidimensional poverty.
“When you spend two to three days trying to cross a bridge, that’s poverty, because it should take just a few minutes so that you can go and do more productive things.
“The president approved that since the bridge is finished that we should create an access road so that during Christmas you can begin to experience what it would feel like plying the bridge.”
He, however, warned against overspeeding on the bridge.
“The maximum speed limit on Nigerian roads is 100km per hour. Don’t drive 101km per hour.
“The president will be happy to see users drive safely and responsibly while using this road, especially during this Christmas and New Year seasons.
“The president wishes you a merry Christmas and Happy New Year,” Fashola said.
The section of the bridge leading from the East to the West will be opened on 15 January.
