Fifty one per cent of the Section One of the ongoing Lagos-Ibadan Expressway Rehabilitation/Reconstruction Project has been completed.
Mr Kayode Ibrahim, the Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing engineer supervising the project, disclosed this to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday after inspecting it.
NAN reports that section one of the project which extends from Ojota in Lagos State to the Sagamu Interchange in Ogun, was awarded to Julius Berger Plc by the former President Goodluck Jonathan-led administration.
NAN correspondents who joined the engineer on the inspection of the project observed that workers of Julius Berger Construction Company were working round the clock to ensure its completion within the stipulated period.
The workmen were seen using various machines to grade and fill some portions of the road edges with laterite on both carriageways between Redeemers’ University gate and the Sagamu Interchange.
NAN also observed that the drainage channels were being constructed on the Ibadan-bound carriageway around Christopher University area while asphalt was being lain between NASFAT camp and the Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries (MFM) axis.
Also, some of the workers were seen working on three portions on the Lagos-bound carriageway on the popular ‘Long Bridge’ and on other portions of the road.
Ibrahim told NAN that, “The project achieved 51 per cent completion as at end of
April. We do our project analysis at the end of every month.
“We are still fixing new expansion joints on the Long Bridge; and this is a painstaking job that has to been done slowly and accurately.
“On the Lagos-bound carriageway, we have fixed 30 expansion joints out of 42 expansion joints there; and as soon as we finish, we will move to the Ibadan-bound carriage.
“We are doing earthworks at MFM, Ibafo, Chanage 27 near the Redeemed Christian Church of God camp.
“We are also doing side drainages, catch pits, and outfalls which take surface water to gorges or streams,” he said.
He explained that the construction company was making efforts to prevent the road retaining stagnant water and be unnecessary flooding before and during the raining season.
Ibahim said that to achieve this, the workers had started opening up and cleaning all weep-holes on the Long Bridge.
He also said that his organization had decided to construct rigid pavements along the road shoulders instead of carrying out temporary repairs on them.
The engineer said that temporary repairs on them would waste public funds.
“We cannot work on the road shoulders because they require massive work; we will construct rigid pavements there when the construction reaches there.
“If we face road-shoulder work, it will be a waste of fund to do massive temporary repairs but we will keep the road accessible as we reconstruct.
“The existing carriageway is our focus for now and we have made tremendous progress because traffic is better now,” he said.
The engineer, however, advised drivers to desist from their reckless driving on the Lagos-Ibadan Highway.
He said that this had been responsible for accidents there and slowing the pace of work.
Meanwhile, motorists expressed mixed feelings over the project when NAN asked them for their views.
While some expressed satisfaction, others appealed to the Federal Government to increase funding into the project to speed up work.
A truck driver, Mr Moses Ocholi, told NAN that the repair had reduced travel time on the highway.
“Now, I can tell my wife to expect me in two hours in Lagos if I am at Ibadan; that could not happen in the past,” he said.
A trader, Mrs Felicia Amanze, also commended the efforts of government on the project which she said had eased movement for the various settlers in communities along the axis.
However, a transporter, Mr Ahmed Suleiman, appealed to government to inject more funds into the project to speed up construction.
“We saw the speed with which the Abuja Airport runway was completed by the contractors that handled the project.
“So,it is a question of funding, government should release money fast to contractors so that they can finish this work quick,” he said. (NAN)
KEA/GA/PAD
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