Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State has ordered a state-wide filling of potholes to ensure smooth vehicular movement and to repair roads washed off by the rains.
The governor who said he was aware of the state of the roads reiterated his zero pothole principles and assured that with the little window of dry season expected, all agencies would be mobilised to repair and fill the potholes.
This was disclosed by the state Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, Mr. Adebowale Akinsanya who moved round projects to assess their extent of readiness so they could be immediately put to use to alleviate the discomfort road users were exposed to.
“I like to thank His Excellency, Governor Ambode for giving us the necessary support. The Governor is committed to the projects and along with this also is the challenge of potholes being experienced in the State. “We have been directed by the governor that once we have a brief window of no rain, the Public Works Corporation has already been mobilised to go all out everywhere across the state to get everything done within the next three to four weeks and so you will see our men working all over the road,” Akinsanya said.
The commissioner said after inspecting the Pen Cinema Flyover in Agege area that the project was now at 60 per cent completion stage.
The government also said the 10-lane Oshodi-International Airport Road was now at over 50 per cent completion stage, with an assurance that it would be completed by the end of the year.
The design of the Airport Road includes reconstruction and expansion of the existing carriage to 3-lane Expressway on both directions, construction of two-lane Service Road in both directions, construction of Ramp Bridge to provide a U-turn from Ajao Estate to Airport, construction of a flyover at NAHCO/Toll Gate and drainage works.
Others include the removal and construction of Pedestrian Bridges at Ajao Estate and NAHCO/Hajj Camp, construction of Slip Road to provide access to Ajao Estate, construction of Lay-bys and installation of Street Lights, among others.
Speaking during an inspection tour of ongoing projects across the State, Mr. Akinsanya, said it was gratifying to note that after delay caused by rains, work had resumed in full swing across the state.
At Pen Cinema project site, the Commissioner, said, “This is part of the review of ongoing projects in the State and we are at the site of the critical one which is the Pen Cinema Flyover along with Airport Road in addition to all other ongoing projects.
“Most of the difficult parts of the work are already ongoing. Overall, we are at about 60 per cent completion stage and right now, we have over 70 major projects ongoing but as can be seen, work is ongoing,” he said.
On the delay, Akinsanya said: “Unfortunately, it is difficult to fight nature and rain has not helped and what we are seeing is the result of the heavy downpour for the last few weeks but the work is ongoing and with the cooperation from the contractors, whatever time we have lost, things will be accelerated.
“We have a good working relationship with Hi-Tech; they are committed to the project and I can assure the people that by first quarter of next year, this project will be commissioned by God’s grace,” the Commissioner said.
Giving details, he said 10 out of the 14 pier walls have already been completed and seven ramps, while the casting of the super structure which is the high beam was progressing well.
At Airport Road, the Commissioner said the project was a bit delayed to ensure that the quality of the work was not comprised and to minimise impact on residents, but assured that it would be completed by the end of the year.
“To me, the critical thing is the traffic management because one of the key things we need to do is to minimise the impact on the citizenry. So, we have been doing a lot and work slows down because of traffic management because we want to accommodate the people living around this area and we don’t want to make things too bad for them but as we make more progress, traffic will get better.
“For the people living in this area and the general public, I want to thank you for your understanding and support but please bear with us. This is a temporary thing and come January next year, you will see a brand new road. At the same time, there might be other things going on but the road will be opened. The work is taking some time because quality is very important. We don’t want anything to affect the quality of the work,” Akinsanya said.
