lagos—THE Section 1 of the four kilometre Apapa-Wharf Road in Lagos State currently under reconstruction will be opened to traffic before ending of January, Federal Controller of Works in Lagos, Mr Godwin Eke, has said.

Eke told the journalists in Lagos, yesterday that the measure was to reduce gridlock and hardship to road users plying the road.

A visit to the site yesterday showed that some of the workers were working on the drainage channels along the CMS/Ijora-bound carriageway of the road.

Others were operating earth moving equipment to do various  works simultaneously on the main carriageway on the same section.

Also, workmen were laying iron rod mesh as foundation to some portions leading to the CMS/Ijora Bridge.

It was observed that the workmen had completed the laying of asphalt on some portions of the road and were using their rolling machines to ensure its compactness.

An engineer on site who spoke on condition of anonymity said work was also progressing on Section 2 of the project. According to him, the project was divided into four sections.

The engineer said the pace of construction in each section would depend on how fast the utilities in the Right of Way, RoW, of the project were relocated.

He said there were both surface and underground utilities which included the covering of the gas pipelines, internet cables, water lines, 11KVA and 33 KVA electric cables in the RoW.

The engineer said these must be taken care of before  works could start,adding:  “We are working here now because we have been able to identify where gas pipelines are and work around it. We have also hung the utility cables that were removed here so that we can replace them in the new service ducts that we will provide after construction. We cannot move to Section 3 without taking care of the various utilities. The whole section is about 550 metres and we have done the drains more than half way on this side.”

The engineer also said that all the precast elements needed to speed up construction works were ready, noting that the “total cross section of the road pavement is 600mm. The road is made up of reinforced concrete called rigid pavement.”

Meanwhile, Mr Eke said the ministry was intensifying efforts to speed up the completion of Section 1, link it to the CMS-Ijora Bridge and open it to traffic.

“We will open that section to traffic this month to reduce gridlock. Relocation of services in the RoW is being done in phases as the funds are made available. A lot of money goes into relocation and it is not as easy as it seems,” Eke said.

The controller cited administrative, cost of compensation, offices, vehicles as some of the items that required money when relocating services.

The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola, had   on June 17, 2017 signed a N4.34 billion Memorandum of Understanding with AG Dangote Construction Company Ltd., and some other stakeholders for the reconstruction of the four-kilometre Apapa-Wharf Road.