By Samuel Oyadongha, Yenagoa

BAYELSA State government has intensified rehabilitation work on flood devastated roads across the state.

It would be recalled that the 2022 flood left several critical infrastructures destroyed in the predominantly riverine and marshy state with many communities cut off from mainland Yenagoa and the rest of the country.

Speaking during a tour of the project sites on Friday, the state Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, Moses Teibowei in company of his Information, Orientation and Strategy counterpart, Ayibaina Duba assured that the rehabilitation works would be completed by the end of July this year.

The project sites visited include, the Onuebum-Otuoke road, Imiringi-Elebele road, Opokuma-Sabagreia road, Igbedi road extension and Tombia-Amassoma road among others.

Teibowei said: “We have decided to tell Bayelsans what the prosperity administration is doing with regards to roads that were badly affected by the 2020 flood and what effort the government is making to ensure that the roads are rehabilitated.

“We started with visit to Onuebum-Otuoke site from there, we moved to Imiringi-Elebele road where we made some diversions because on that road, we were having regular accidents and we are replacing the iron bridges with concrete culverts. From there we went to Opokuma-Sabagreia road and to Amassoma road.

“In all the locations, work is ongoing and we believe that it will be completed by July this year. We also visited Igbedi road extension.

“We are doing over 2 kilometers of additional road after government has done 4.5 kilometers which was commissioned last year.

“We also visited the outer ring road section 2 and 3 and there are other jobs going in different locations of the state. The Onuebum-Otuoke road is flooded perennially and we decided to elevate the road from its present level to two meters height.

“We are going to sand fill up to 2 meters height and provide culverts where necessary to ensure that it is not going to be flooded again.

“We are constructing both internal and major roads. For Sagbama-Ekeremor road, we are talking about 42 kilometers. Nembe-Brass road 21 kilometers, Outer ring road 21 kilometers, Glory drive phase 2, 10.8 kilometers.

“We are also going to do from Sagbama to Tungbo. In the next one week contracts will be awarded to rehabilitate the road. All the projects will be finished before the rainy season finally sets in.

Speaking on the importance of the projects, the state commissioner for information orientation and strategy, Ayibaina Duba said: “We have always maintained that we want to link up Bayelsa State and roads need to be constructed. More projects have been approved. We are doing this because Bayelsa state was created since 1996 and it is bad that with what we contribute to the federation, there are still local governments that are not connected by road. As a responsible government, we feel that it is unacceptable and we must link up these communities with roads.

“It is something we as a government want to do for the people and we will continue to do these roads. We will not stop until we get it done and achieved.”