{"id":242,"date":"2026-09-25T03:03:45","date_gmt":"2026-09-25T03:03:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/purityfm1025.net.ng\/?p=242"},"modified":"2026-09-25T03:06:52","modified_gmt":"2026-09-25T03:06:52","slug":"first-niger-bridge-reopening-delayed-as-fg-extends-closure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/purityfm1025.net.ng\/index.php\/2026\/09\/25\/first-niger-bridge-reopening-delayed-as-fg-extends-closure\/","title":{"rendered":"FIRST NIGER BRIDGE REOPENING DELAYED AS FG EXTENDS CLOSURE"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Reporter : OBY ARINZE<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The reopening of the First Niger Bridge has suffered another setback, as the Federal Government says the bridge will remain closed until critical structural rehabilitation works are completed. The Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi, announced the extension during an inspection of the ongoing rehabilitation project at the Onitsha Bridge Head on Wednesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Umahi said the strategic bridge linking Anambra and Delta states would not be reopened until it is certified safe for motorists, stressing that the Federal Government would not compromise public safety under pressure to restore traffic. The bridge was shut after engineers discovered vandalised structural components, including bolts, nuts and sections of the expansion-joint steelwork.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Although the bridge was initially scheduled to reopen on September 21, persistent rainfall has slowed rehabilitation activities, resulting in a further extension of the closure. The minister expressed satisfaction with the pace of work but directed the contractor to undertake additional repairs, including repainting structural elements, bridge caps and internal sections of the carriageway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He also ordered the completion of CCTV installation on the bridge and its integration with the surveillance system on the Second Niger Bridge to enhance security and monitoring. Umahi explained that one carriageway could be reopened once the newly laid concrete attains the required strength, while rehabilitation continues on the second carriageway. The extended closure means motorists and businesses that rely on the First Niger Bridge will continue to experience disruption as the Federal Government completes the remaining critical works before reopening the facility.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Reporter : OBY ARINZE The reopening of the First Niger Bridge has suffered another setback, as the Federal [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-242","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-anambra-news","category-southeast-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/purityfm1025.net.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/242","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/purityfm1025.net.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/purityfm1025.net.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/purityfm1025.net.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/purityfm1025.net.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=242"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/purityfm1025.net.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/242\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":245,"href":"https:\/\/purityfm1025.net.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/242\/revisions\/245"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/purityfm1025.net.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=242"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/purityfm1025.net.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=242"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/purityfm1025.net.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=242"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}