The Lekki-Ikoyi Link Bridge, is a 1.36 km (0.84 mile)

cable-stayed bridge A cable-stayed bridge has one or more ''towers'' (or ''pylons''), from which wire rope, cables support the bridge deck. A distinctive feature are the cables or wikt:stay#Etymology 3, stays, which run directly from the tower to the deck, norm ...

Lagos State Lagos State (, ) is a States of Nigeria, state in South West, Nigeria. Of the 36 States of Nigeria, Nigerian states, Lagos is the second List of Nigerian states by population, most populous state but the List of Nigerian states by area, smallest ...

. It links the Phase 1 area of

Lekki Lekki is a city in Lagos State, Nigeria. It is located to the south-east of Lagos city. Lekki is a naturally formed peninsula, adjoining to its west Victoria Island and Ikoyi districts of Lagos, with the Atlantic Ocean to its south, Lagos Lag ...

, with

Ikoyi Ikoyi is the most affluent neighborhood of Lagos, located in Eti-Osa Local Government Area. It lies to the northeast of Obalende and adjoins Lagos Island to the west, and at the edge of the Lagos Lagoon. Popular with the extreme upper class r ...

district of

Lagos Lagos ( ; ), or Lagos City, is a large metropolitan city in southwestern Nigeria. With an upper population estimated above 21 million dwellers, it is the largest city in Nigeria, the most populous urban area on the African continent, and on ...

. The bridge was commissioned on 29 May 2013 by the Governor of Lagos State,

Babatunde Raji Fashola Babatunde Raji Fashola ( ; born 28 June 1963) is a Nigerian lawyer and politician who served as the federal minister of Works and Housing of Nigeria from 2019 to 2023. He was the minister of Power, Works and Housing from 2015 to 2019. He als ...

Design and construction

The bridge is the first cable-stayed bridge to be built in Nigeria and was constructed by Julius Berger Nigeria. The bridge has a 9-metre headroom above water level in order to allow for the flow of maritime traffic.

Operation

The bridge is a toll bridge, although tolls have not been charged since the

2020 Lekki shooting On the night of 20 October 2020, at about 6:50p.m., members of the Nigerian Army opened fire on unarmed End SARS protesters at the Lekki toll gate (Admiralty Circle Plaza) in Lagos State, Nigeria. Amnesty International stated that at least 12 ...

and the

End SARS End SARS, widely written as #EndSARS, was a decentralised social movement and series of mass protests against police brutality in Nigeria that mainly occurred in 2020. The movement's slogan called for the disbandment of the Special Anti-Robb ...

protests. Its use is restricted to private and commercial vehicles with a total seating capacity not exceeding 26. The toll gate is located at the Lekki end of the bridge. Tolling has been controversial with some

Lagosians Lagos State (, ) is a state in South West, Nigeria. Of the 36 Nigerian states, Lagos is the second most populous state but the smallest in terms of land mass. Bounded to the south by the Bight of Benin and to the west by the international bord ...

believing that since the bridge was built with public funds, its use should be available at no cost. The

Lagos State government Lagos State Government is the government of Lagos State, concerned with the administration of the state ministries. The government consists of the executive, Lagos State House of Assembly, legislative and Lagos State Judiciary, Judiciary. The go ...

, on the other hand, has argued that the collection of tolls is not only required to maintain the bridge but also to generate funds for building other bridges to link parts of Lagos. The waterway above which the bridge is built is owned and controlled by the

Federal Government of Nigeria The federal government of Nigeria is composed of three distinct branches: the executive, the legislative, and the judicial, whose powers are vested and bestowed upon by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. One of the primary f ...

. Apart from vehicular traffic, the bridge also serves as a recreational facility. Fitness inclined residents of Lekki phase 1 and Ikoyi use the wide

curb A curb (American English) or kerb (British English) is the edge where a raised sidewalk/pavement or road median/central reservation meets a street/other roadway. History Although curbs have been used throughout modern history, and indeed ...

s of the bridge for jogging and running, usually in the early mornings and evenings. Tourists and other visitors also find this bridge as one of the places to visit and the bridge is the most photographed place in Lagos.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lekki-Ikoyi Link Bridge Ikoyi Lekki Toll bridges in Lagos Cable-stayed bridges in Nigeria