ZIK GBEMRE LAMENTS ON THE WIDELY CIRCULATED UDU BRIDGE DANGER ALERT,  NEED FOR THE DELTA STATE GOVERNMENT’S URGENT INTERVENTION….

…AND THE CONSTRUCTION OF ANOTHER SOPHISTICATED BRIDGE OR AN UNDERGROUND VEHICLE TUNNEL

With regards to the recently well-circulated Danger Alert on different social media platforms, warning residents of Warri and environs that the Udu Bridge is seriously shaking, as such, motorists and individuals were advised to take other alternative routes; we believe there is an urgent need for the Delta State Government and relevant Stakeholders alike, to take pragmatic steps, as we would advise here, to address this situation from a permanent angle.

We would like to first recall the fact that, there was controversy before and during the construction of the said Udu Bridge, which was basically between Udu Elders/prominent Chiefs in the State and Chief James Edewor. The argument then by Chief James Edewor, was that the siting of the Udu Bridge in its present location, was wrong because it would render the then-popular Enerhen/Sedco Industrial Areas useless since no big vessel can berth there. And he suggested then that the said Udu Bridge should be made to pass another location that will still make the Enerhen/Sedco Industrial Areas commercially viable. But the Udu Eminent Leaders/Persons disagreed and insisted that the Udu Bridge must pass through its present location. And that was how the said Udu Bridge became quite lengthy and high like a high rising building. Yet, the purpose for which the bridge was constructed was not realized. The construction of the said Udu bridge at its present location saw the exodus of companies from Enerhen Industrial Areas to Ekpan, Edjeba, and Ogunu areas.  And this killed the business activities in the once-booming Enerhen/Sedco Industrial Areas, near Warri.

Edewor was a man with business acumen and business vision that saw through the future, but no one saw what he saw then. The left side of the Udu Bridge from the Warri axis to Ovwian town in the Udu Local Government Area, has no active marine business activities, despite the coastal nature of that area. Though Chief James Edewor was trying to protect the interest of his business, which was largely located in the said Enerhen/Sedco Areas, he was also at the same time trying to protect the overall interest of the business activities in the entire Enerhen/Sedco Industrial Areas then.

To this end, we think that, if the Delta State Government must construct another new bridge to reconnect the Udu areas with Warri and its environs, then it has to be a highly sophisticated bridge that will look like the Towers Bridge in London, which would be constructed with the capacity to open for a big vessel to pass through. If not, this unfortunate state of the said Udu Bridge may create another economic hardship for Deltans/Nigerians residents and doing marine business in these areas. The Tower Bridge in London for instance was built between 1886 and 1894. The bridge crosses the River Thames, and the bridge opens to allow vessels to pass through. It takes one minute for the said Tower bridge to open, and another one minute to close, plus the time it takes a vessel to pass through. And like the Tower Bridge in London, which has become a tourist attraction, the one that will be built to replace the Udu bridge will also attract tourism. Such a bridge will also yield revenue for the Government because every vessel will be required to pay a toll before they pass.

It is no news that the said Udu Bridge is old and obsolete, but there are a lot of issues that need to be taken into consideration before any step is taken. It is also worthy to note that the population of Ovwian and environs/Warri and environs are growing rapidly, as such, the said Udu bridge is being overstressed currently with the heavy vehicular/individual movements most of the time. So, the Delta State Government needs to take into consideration all of these factors and the suggestions made here when constructing a new bridge across the Udu river. The fact is that it is either the Delta State Government should construct a tunnel underneath the Udu river that vehicles can use, just like the Dartford Crossing (also known as Dartford tunnel) in the UK, or reconstruct a new sophisticated bridge like the Towers Bridge in London, to reconnect the two areas, and this would make the Udu river economical viable and safe too.

Whatever the case may be, the fact is that urgent steps need to be taken by the Delta State Government and relevant stakeholders in the State to address this pathetic situation with the Udu Bridge, to PREVENT any future mishaps that could lead to the loss of lives and property. Delta State has enough financial resources to embark on this stated project and bring it to reality, to permanently address this Udu Bridge problem. More so, this project is far more an economic viable venture than giving frivolous appointments to hanger-on/loyalists/supporters, who practically sit in offices doing nothing as so-called Personal Aides, Personal Assistants (PAs), Senior Special Assistants (SSAs), Special Advisers (SAs), and what have you.

We Mobilize Others To Fight For Individual Causes As If Those Were Our Cause