By Isqil Najim
The Lagos State Government has announced a temporary closure of the historic Iddo Bridge, located in the Ijora and Apapa Local Government Area, to allow for vital structural repairs. The decision, communicated by the State Commissioner for Transportation, Mr. Oluwaseun Osiyemi, is part of a broader, ongoing effort to rehabilitate one of the city’s oldest and most heavily used transit corridors.
Why the Bridge Is Closing temporarily
According to Osiyemi, the closure is necessary to allow the Federal Ministry of Works to safely install heavy steel bridge beams, a critical phase in the comprehensive reconstruction of Iddo Bridge. The structure has suffered significant wear over the decades, the result of constant heavy vehicular traffic, tidal forces, and marine corrosion that have gradually weakened its foundations.
Engineers say the rehabilitation project has already reached roughly 30 percent physical completion, but launching beams of this scale requires the area beneath and around the bridge to be entirely cleared of traffic for safety reasons.
To limit the disruption to commuters, the state government has split the closure into two distinct windows.
The first will take place overnight on Wednesday, 17th June 2026, running from 10:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m., a seven-hour window chosen to take advantage of lighter night traffic. The second closure is scheduled for daytime on Sunday, 21st June 2026, from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., an eight-hour stretch timed to coincide with lower weekend commuter volume.
During both periods, the entire section of the bridge will be shut to vehicular movement to ensure the steel beams can be installed safely. “The closure is part of the traffic management plans put in place to facilitate the launching of steel beams for the ongoing rehabilitation and reconstruction of Iddo Bridge by the Federal Ministry of Works,” Osiyemi said, adding that the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) would be fully deployed to guide motorists through the affected area.
Alternative Routes for Motorists
The commissioner outlined several diversions designed to keep traffic moving while the work is underway.
Motorists travelling from Oyingbo or Yaba toward Ijora Olopa, Apapa, and Costain are advised to reroute via Funsho Williams Avenue.
Those coming from Marina toward the same destinations should descend the ramp to access Iddo-Onigbe, connect through Oyingbo, and continue their journey via Murtala Muhammed Way.
Meanwhile, drivers moving from Ijora Olopa or Apapa toward Carter Bridge or Marina are urged to use Eko Bridge by connecting through Apapa Road, then proceed through Murtala Muhammed Way via Iddo-Onigbe to reach Carter Bridge.
Osiyemi appealed for patience, asking motorists to cooperate fully with traffic officials stationed along the diversion routes.
A Bridge Built on a Century of History
To appreciate why Iddo Bridge matters so much to Lagos, it helps to look back at the history of Iddo Island itself, a landmass that has quietly shaped the city’s transport story for more than a hundred years.
Long before Lagos Island became Nigeria’s commercial nerve centre, Iddo was already serving as the essential link between the isolated islands of Lagos and the vast Nigerian mainland. The island was originally settled by Olofin Ogunfuminire and his Awori followers as far back as the 13th century, making it one of the foundational sites in the wider story of Lagos.
Iddo’s modern significance began in earnest in 1896, when the British colonial administration started building the Nigerian Railway system. They chose the island as the site for the Lagos Terminus, popularly known as Iddo Railway Station, which quickly became the grand gateway for goods and passengers travelling down from northern and western Nigeria toward the coast.
With so much cargo and human traffic converging on the island, the colonial government recognised the urgent need for a reliable bridge network to move people and goods into Lagos Island itself.
This need gave rise to two landmark structures. The Denton Bridge, named after Sir George Chardin Denton, a former Lieutenant Governor of the Colony of Lagos, was built to connect Iddo to the mainland. Shortly after, in 1901, the original Carter Bridge was constructed to link Iddo directly to Idumota on Lagos Island.
The area’s importance was further underscored by the fact that it hosted Nigeria’s first and only steam tramway service, which carried passengers across the bridge network from 1902 until 1933.
As Lagos expanded through the 20th century, land reclamation projects gradually fused Iddo Island into the mainland, and the old colonial-era bridges could no longer cope with the demands of modern vehicular traffic. The flyovers, overpasses, and underpasses that make up today’s Iddo Bridge infrastructure emerged from major infrastructure overhauls in the 1970s, designed to feed traffic directly into the newly redesigned Carter and Eko Bridges.
Viewed against this backdrop, the current repair works are simply the latest chapter in a structure that has been central to Lagos’s growth since the colonial era. The steel beam installation due this June is intended to reinforce a transit corridor that has carried the weight of the city’s commerce for well over a century, ensuring it remains fit to serve a Lagos that has grown far beyond what its original builders ever imagined.