The Rivers state governor, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi has assured the residents of Port Harcourt of a speedy and permanent solution to the frail Air F
orce Bridge whose retaining wall partly caved in and collapsed after a heavy downpour on Sunday night.
Mr Amaechi was speaking during an unscheduled inspection of the bridge where a section of its retaining wall collapsed at the Nigerian Air Force Junction in the Obio Akpor local government axis of Rivers state.
Debunking some media reports, he said that the bridge itself did not collapse rather; it was the retaining wall that collapsed.
The governor, who blamed the poor construction of the bridge on the former contractor Bulletin Construction, said there was a need to rebuild the embankment to the bridge.
He however noted that talks were on to take over the reconstruction of the bridge.
He also ordered that traffic be redirected to reduce traffic congestion on the Aba Road which has already built up. This, he said, is done to negotiate and ensure that the pricing for the reconstruction of the flyover did not skyrocket and follows due process.
Speaking on other road projects in the state, Mr Amaechi dispelled rumours that roads built by his administration are not durable, according to him, the complaints about Choba/Rumuokwuta Road is because the road has not been completed.
He said “the problem with Choba Road is that first, it has not been completed, it is still at binder course…, secondly is that we have not directed away the water from the drain so you have a crisis where water is affecting the structure of the road”.
The Air Force Bridge was constructed in 2006 by Bulletin Construction Company during governor Peter Odili’s administration.
