Federal government begins reconstruction of 100-year-old Carter Bridge in Lagos

• The Federal Government has approved ₦548.98 billion to demolish and rebuild the Carter Bridge.

• Structural damage to underwater components made repairs impossible, according to Dave Umahi.

• The new bridge will be longer (1.93km) and include a flyover to reduce traffic congestion.

• The project is part of broader infrastructure upgrades ahead of Bola Tinubu’s third anniversary.

Construction is now set to begin on one of Lagos’ most iconic crossings, as the Federal Government moves ahead with the full demolition and reconstruction of the ageing Carter Bridge.

The project, approved at a cost of ₦548.98 billion, will see the nearly 100-year-old bridge pulled down and replaced entirely, a decision authorities say became unavoidable after years of structural decline beneath the surface.

Minister of Works Dave Umahi confirmed that multiple technical investigations, dating back to 2013 and revisited in 2019 and under the current administration, all reached the same conclusion: the bridge could no longer be salvaged.

“We convocated a stakeholders’ engagement, and all the technical experts all over the country, and even internationally, all agreed that we could not redeem Carter Bridge, and it has to be completely demolished and rebuilt,” Umahi said.

READ ALSO: Africa’s richest man steps in to fix Nigeria’s power sector; unveils plans for massive 20,000MW project

According to the minister, the most critical damage isn’t what commuters see, it’s underneath.

The bridge’s underwater piles and pile caps, which support the entire structure, have deteriorated severely due to age and constant exposure to the Lagos Lagoon’s saltwater environment. Umahi described the damage as progressing at a “geometrical progression,” meaning it worsened rapidly over time.

For years, authorities tried to manage the situation with repairs and restrictions, including limiting heavy-duty vehicles. But those measures are no longer enough.

The replacement won’t just be a rebuild, it’s also an upgrade.

The new structure will be extended from 1.525 kilometres to about 1.93 kilometres. A key addition is a flyover ramp designed to ease one of the most persistent traffic bottlenecks in the area.

“We’ve gone through rigorous procurement and design… we have now increased the project to 1.93 kilometres because we increased a flyover ramp, so that the bottleneck that is usually there will no longer exist,” Umahi explained.

The bridge will also include a navigational waterway measuring 105 metres by two, allowing better movement of marine traffic beneath it.

The contract was awarded to China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCCC) after a competitive bidding process that included major firms such as Julius Berger, CCECC, CBC, and China Harbour High Tech.

Separately, the Federal Executive Council also approved ₦24.89 billion for underwater repairs on the Third Mainland Bridge, with Julius Berger handling that work. Both projects are part of infrastructure efforts lined up ahead of Bola Tinubu’s third anniversary in office on May 29.

The Carter Bridge isn’t just any road link, it’s one of Lagos’ oldest, originally built during the colonial era and named after Gilbert Carter.

For decades, it has served as a critical connection between Lagos Island and the mainland, carrying thousands of vehicles daily across the lagoon.

But years of heavy traffic, ageing materials, and environmental exposure have taken their toll.

READ ALSO: Nigeria records over 4,000 cyberattacks weekly: how to protect your devices and online data

While the reconstruction promises a more modern and efficient bridge in the long run, it also raises immediate concerns about traffic disruptions in an already congested city.

Authorities are expected to provide traffic management plans as construction progresses, especially given the bridge’s importance in daily movement across Lagos.

For now, one thing is clear, a major piece of Lagos history is about to be rebuilt from the ground up, this time designed to last far longer than the last.