By Ajibola Olaide, JKNewsMedia Reporter
JULIUS BERGER has announced it is entering the final stage of its ambitious Lagos-Opebi-Mende Roads and Bridges project, with completion firmly in sight and the handover deadline of May 2025 standing intact.
In a press statement by the company, “with every structural milestone achieved, the contractor’s on-site momentum signals a potential breakthrough in tackling Lagos’ long-standing traffic nightmare.”
Project Manager Dymitry Denysenko confirmed that the Opebi Road reconstruction, Odo Alaro Bridge, Underpass 1, deck-on-pile link bridges, and Maryland U-turn have all been completed.
Underpass 2 is nearly finished, the statement also reads, noting, rounding off a complex operation designed to reshape mobility within the Ikeja-Ojota corridor.
The works span a 4.52km stretch, supported by 1,500 bored piles sunk to depths of 40 metres and culminating in a 640-metre bridge structure.
Lagos, home to 24.5 million residents and 40% of Nigeria’s vehicle registrations, routinely endures traffic congestion that sees commuters stranded for hours.
The state’s compact size—just 3,577 square kilometres—exacerbates the bottleneck.
For Denysenko, these realities underscore the urgency of Julius Berger’s work, which he said is “delivering lasting solutions” to one of Nigeria’s most complex urban challenges.
The Lagos-Opebi-Mende project is not just an infrastructure upgrade.
It is widely recognised as a legacy effort by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who vowed that the dividends of democracy would manifest in the daily lives of residents.
By connecting key economic routes and enhancing flow, the project is set to transform movement across the state and reduce commuter fatigue, the Governor was also noted to have said.
Julius Berger also says its impact extends beyond the mainland. On Lagos Island, reconstruction of streets including Idumagbo Avenue, Adeniji Adele, and Okoya aims to unblock a historically congested artery of commerce.
According to the company’s West Region Technical Manager Christl Thomas, the ongoing efforts “will extensively solve the traffic problem on that axis” while fostering a more conducive environment for business.
Urban planner Soji Wilson echoed the importance of the initiative, observing that the quantity of cars on Lagos roads far outstrips the capacity of the network.
Congestion, he noted, is a direct result of this mismatch. Yet, with strategic execution, Lagos may finally begin to breathe.
