Some safety experts have expressed displeasure following the recent bridge collapse in Yaba.
Recall that last weekend, there was a bit of chaos in the Yaba area of Lagos State after a part of the pedestrian bridge just in front of the St. Dominic’s Catholic Church fell on a truck.
Although HSENations gathered that no life was lost during the incident.
In a bid to curb reoccurrence of such incident, this online safety news platform spoke to safety professionals to get their opinions and guidance.
In their reactions, President of the Building Collapsed Association, Lagos, Mr. Kunle Awomodu, said, “That is the walking platform and I heard that all the bridges along Herbert Macaulay way from Yabatech are undergoing maintenance, welding, and painting.”
“Some welders were seen on the bridge but I guess the company handling the project wasn’t competent to carry it out. They probably didn’t place the walking platform and connect it back properly to the supporting primary beams.”
In his reaction, Mr. Olufemi Johnson, a quantity surveyor said; The collapse was caused by the soil subsistence. The vibration on the soil by the vehicle caused the soil to fail.”
“The traffic over a long period of time had created a weakness on the soil. This truck in question had it’s vibration on the weak soil to cause subside”
On what can be done to rectify the damage done Olufemi further stated that ” The remains of the bridge should be collapsed and removed, redesigned and built anew.
“You can not repair the existing, because the weakness is created already and it is defective. Structural Engineers should be engaged in the redesign that would take account of the present state of the soil.”
“The design would take care of the vibration caused by traffic”.
“All tests should be done to affirm the quality of the concrete mix so that the new work can live the design span of duration it is supposed to serve.”