Lagos deputy mayor Hugo Pereira has vowed that the Dona Maria Bridge will reopen to traffic imminently as renovation work on the structure draws to an end.
The million-euro overhaul was originally due to be finished by May but that deadline had to be extended by 60 days.
According to the deputy mayor the work is “practically finished” and only needs “paving and weight testing.”
“We have the contractor’s assurance that all conditions are met so that the bridge can reopen to traffic at the end of July or early August”, he said.
In Pereira’s opinion, the bridge’s closure “caused minor damage to the local economy, but major disruptions in access to Meia Praia, especially during the summer season, with a clear loss for those going to the beach”.
“Traffic jams were the biggest problems”, he added.
The century-old D. Maria bridge, one of the main access routes between Lagos and Meia Praia, was closed to all traffic – motorised and pedestrian – in February 2012, on the recommendation of the National Civil Engineering Laboratory (LNEC), for “risk of imminent collapse”, after an inspection conducted on its support structure.
Renovation works included the construction of a new, wider bridge deck, and the structural reinforcement of 12 pillars with micro-piles and architectural rehabilitation.