The Federal Government says it has completed the 2.2km Loko-Oweto bridge that connects the northern and southern parts of Nigeria.

The Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, who disclosed this while inspecting the bridge, said when completed, this would help reduce travel time between the two regions.

Fashola said, “This is a bridge that connects the North and South of Nigeria; Oweto in Benue, and Loko in Nasarawa, which links you to the Federal Capital Territory.

“This is a major strategic transport route to connect this part of the country and all those coming from the East of Nigeria.”

The minister added, “When I came here in 2016, only one side of the bridge was completed. Now, the entire bridge is completed. The only work that remains now is the connecting road to link the bridge to the towns.”

Fashola said the road from Oturkpo to Oweto had been completed, with only 3.5km remaining to link the bridge to the road on the Benue side.

He said although there was still some work to be done on the Loko side with about 74km of connecting road, vehicular traffic had commenced on the road because of the evident shortness of the link.

Fashola said the road had become a major route for transporting yams and other agricultural produce from Benue to Nasarawa and to other parts of the North.

He said, “This is the bridge that crosses River Benue while the second Niger Bridge is also going on. They are the two major bridge interventions across the two largest rivers in Nigeria to improve national integration and coexistence.”