“As Nigeria moves toward full completion and expansion, the road stands as a landmark testament to what sustained commitment and collaborative infrastructure partnership can achieve“.
BY ISAAC BOURO
Ahead of the completion of the Bodo-Bonny Road being constructed by Julius Berger Nigeria PLC in the heart of Rivers State, stands as a landmark infrastructure achievement, a symbol of perseverance through decades of planning, engineering challenges, and funding setbacks.
Last December, my journalistic curiosity caused me to travel the road still under construction then, with only 5km to go. It was a smooth journey with the palpable excitement being demonstrated by all commuters spoken to underscoring the significance of the new road to them.
Like they chorused to a question as to the cause of their excitement, a businessman, Preye James who said he hailed from Koro Koro Tai community in Gokana Local Government Area in Rivers state, retorted, at least, it is now bye bye to long risky journeys by boat, canoe or ferry across the turbulent rivers in this area.
Stretching roughly 37.9 kilometres, Bodo-Bonny Road is the first federal road to directly connect the Mainland Rivers State to Nigeria’s key economic hub of oil and gas facilities, Bonny Island.
According to findings, the idea for a road linking Bodo in Gokana Local Government Area and Bonny Island dates back many decades, with sketches and proposals, surfacing as far back as the early post-independence era. Then residents of today’s Bonny Island traditionally depended on rivers, creeks, wooden boats, ferries, and later motorised crossings, which were slow, costly, and often dangerous, to commute between and among the communities. Thus, the persistent logistical challenges made the road project a burning desire for community leaders, businesses, and government until December 2014, when the Federal Government formally awarded the contract for the Bodo-Bonny Road project.
Three years after then in October 2017, construction finally commenced under Julius Berger Nigeria Plc which was appointed as the main contractor with a tripartite financing framework comprising, federal government funds with contributions from Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Limited, NLNG, supporting the project as part of a partnership arranging tax credits and financing incentives. This model marked a milestone in Nigeria’s infrastructure financing, fusing public and private capital.
No doubt, constructing such a road through the swampy, marsh-laden terrain between Bodo and Bonny was no ordinary civil engineering. Majorly, the landscape which comprised, low-lying, muddy and unstable soil conditions, numerous waterways requiring bridges and channels, tidal zones and shifting creek beds complicating earthworks must have tasked the contractors.
The entire highway spanning roughly is meant to be the first direct land link between Bonny Island and the mainland without reliance on boats or helicopters. The bridge works were constructed to be among the most complex parts of the project because the road traverses swamps, tidal creeks, and soft soils, requiring significant foundation and drainage engineering.
The road project was designed to include multiple bridge structures because it crosses several waterways, creeks, and marshy terrain. The major ones among the structures are the 750m long Opobo Channel (River) Bridge which is a long main bridge spanning the Opobo waterway; the Nanabie Creek Bridge, which is a major creek bridge of roughly 640 m long and the 550m long Afa Creek Bridge.
But beyond the three major creek/rivers bridges, the project includes a network of smaller and service bridges including, 9 mini‑bridges constituting smaller crossings over drainage channels or minor watercourses, one pipeline crossing bridge that safely pass over existing pipeline infrastructure and culverts and other engineered structures that manage water flow and embankments across swamp and tidal zones.
To tackle this, the design by Julius Berger incorporated major and mini bridges to span creeks and channels. Among the most challenging were the Alpha Creek Bridge, multiple mini-bridge crossings and integral structures across the Opobo Channel
The Project Manager and Julius Berger’s Tim Nippert did not mince words in describing the efforts employed by the company to construct the iconic project. He said, special soil stabilisation and dredging techniques were employed to create a solid foundation for the road embankments.
However, periods of slowing and partial halts when funding issues arose affected the project’s speed; but government interventions and renewed commitments helped sustain progress.
Thus, the project was able to hit several landmarks like bridges completion and main road embankments, asphalting of sections and preparation for pavement, as well as temporary openings during local festivals and celebrations, highlighting its social value
This was enabled by Senate and House of Representatives’ oversight committees and related federal government officials routinely inspecting the works, underscoring the strategic importance of the road for regional socio-economic integration.
Last December 8, 2025, the Federal Government officially opened the Bodo-Bonny Road for temporary public use. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, speaking through the Minister of Works, described the development as a transformative achievement, ending decades of difficult river crossings and expensive helicopter travel to Bonny Island.
For now, the road is open to light vehicles from early morning to early evening, 7am through 7pm, while heavy trucks and two-wheelers await full completion slated for 2026.
When fully completed and finally commissioned, the Bodo-Bonny Road is poised to deliver multi-layered benefits including; improved access to Bonny Island, home to Nigeria’s LNG and related energy investments, cost reductions for movement of goods and people, boost in commerce and trade across Rivers State, better linkage to healthcare, schools, and markets for resident communities, inter-communal cooperation and general socio-economic integration and growth.
The BBR including major bridges across the Opobo Channel and other watercourses has reached substantial completion and it is now open for temporary public use ahead of formal commissioning soon.
The federal government officially flagged off the temporary opening of the 37.9 km route, including the bridge structures, as part of efforts to ease travel between Bodo and Bonny Island. At the time of opening, project completion was reported at about 90.98 %, meaning most major components, including bridges are finished, though final works were still in progress mid last week.
Today, as this writer journeys from Km 0 over the bridges through to NLNG on Bonny Island, a decades-old idea to a nearly 38-kilometre corridor of opportunity, the Bodo-Bonny Road is more than just tarmac and bridges. It represents a journey of ambition, engineering excellence, financial innovation, and community aspirations. As Nigeria moves toward full completion and expansion, the road stands as a landmark testament to what sustained commitment and collaborative infrastructure partnership can achieve. No doubt, the successful completion of the project by Julius Berger not only underscores the company’s expertise and resilience in the face of unimaginable odds, it emphasis the company’s long held mission of transforming challenges into tangible opportunities to bring limitless prosperity for the company, the Bodo-Bonny communities as well as the country.
