By Samuel Oyadongha

OTUASEGA- LESS  than four months after the Edepie-Otuasega federal road in Bayelsa State was opened to traffic, the motorway, one of the major gateways to the oil- rich Bayelsa East senatorial district,    has yet again started failing.   

The usually busy route which cuts through a vast swathe of swamp, forming a huge lake on both sides at the peak of every flood season was reopened, sometime in February, to the relief of residents and road users after the state government closed it to traffic for about seven months to fix the failed spots.

Though a federal road, it is regarded as the busiest and quickest route to the oil-rich Ogbia, where crude oil was first discovered in commercial quantity, Nembe kingdom,    Brass on the Atlantic fringe for commuters coming from the University town of Amassoma in Southern Ijaw local government area and communities in the Gbarain-Ekpetiama axis of the state capital.

Buckles as a result of ceaseless torrent

However, NDV findings revealed that some sections of the road shoulder have started collapsing in the wake of the incessant downpour being experienced in the state.

The development has again brought to the fore the contention among experts that the only way out of the perennial erosion menace is the construction of a hanging bridge across the stretch of marshy land and not the present sand filled road which is susceptible to coastal erosion.

Although work men were carrying out reinforcement daily on some sections of the troubled shoulders and creating channel for easy evacuation of water to save the road from total collapse, especially with the fast approaching flood season,  motorists are disturbed that the situation might get out of hand if the state is again ravaged by another high flooding as predicted by NIMET.

Resident grumbles

A concerned resident, Aziba Hope, complained: “It is barely four months since the road was reopened after the long closure because of the rehabilitation work embarked upon by the government,    but erosion has again reared its ugly head washing away the sides of the road.”

  “As you can see the collapsing portions are being excavated and granite stones mixed with cement used to reinforce it so as to create passage for water to flow down,” he said.

Expert proposes suspended road or hanging bridge

But a civil engineer attached to one of the oil majors operating along the troubled corridor, who spoke anonymously, told NDV that the only solution to the perennial decay is for the Federal Government to redesign the road by constructing a hanging or suspended road  across the vast swamp.

“It is only proper that the Federal Government intervenes and find a lasting solution to the many years of pain inflicted on motorists and residents by this significant but ailing road by awarding a contract for its dualisation.

“What we need here is a suspended road or a hanging bridge and not the present sand-filled road that cuts across this stretch of swamp. This geographical entity has sacrificed so much for this country.

“Crude oil was first discovered in commercial quantity at Otuabagi some distance away from here in Ogbia Kingdom. It is a sad commentary that this is the road that links the cradle of the nation’s oil industry,” he lamented.

Teibowei continues with corrective measures

But the state Commissioner, Minister of Works and Infrastructure, Mr. Moses Teibowei, a surveyor, true to his words, has ensured the continued monitoring and fixing of the collapsing spots by the officials of the ministry in collaboration with the contractor that handled the recent rehabilitation work.