By Olasunkanmi Akoni

IN a bid to give Lagos roads the required face-lift particularly during this rainy season, Governor Akinwunmi Ambode has insisted that the rehabilitation of one of such roads, the Ikotun- Egbe road must be completed by the end of this month.  When Vanguard visited the site at the weekend to assess level of work, heavy construction equipment were seen working on the  drainage and road reconstruction despite intermittent rainfall.

•Ikotun-Ejigbo road under construction

Men of the Lagos State Public Works Corporation, LSPWC, led by the General Manager, Mr Ayotunde Shodeinde, an engineer, were at the site as workers scarify and lay asphalt on the road.

Shodehinde speaks

Shodeinde, LSPWC General Manager, told Vanguard that the government is really committed to the roads total rehabilitation of and  commended the  cooperation by motorists and residents as the reconstruction work progresses. Giving insight into the position of the project, Shodeinde said: “The specification and bill we were given was for Ikotun to Egbe and a side of the road. But looking at it we designed how to manage the resources.

‘’Instead of the 2.6 kilometres that we were given to do, we decided to embark on the whole distressed road which is some 6.67 kilometres. This means we are starting from Ikotun roundabout to Oke Afa. ‘’The level of the work given to us is 90 per cent completed but we have extended the work up to Oke Afa, which means we have covered 75 percent of the total job.

“I must say, that residents had been cooperative and considerate while few have been callous. Before now, the road used to be traffic-locked but we have been able to reduce traffic gridlock because we have morning, afternoon and night shifts in our operations.

“Not that we want to scarify the whole road and lay new ones but where we have major damages we will repair. We have been milling, scarifying, and replacing. In some places where there is no major damage what we do is we cut, scarify, and we prepare another base and lay which is sectional rehabilitation, and where is minor cases we repair.”

Shodeinde added that it was discovered that a lot of places were not having drains, hence, the corporation embarked on construction of good drainage system in some places with inadequate drainage. On the expected completion period for the project, he said, “We have been given a mandate by the governor, that by the end of September, we must complete the project and get away from the area and we are seriously working towards it.

“The project is an enormous task, but we pray that God will grant us the weather to be able to work and deliver on scheduled.” Shodeinde added that the governor had approved the award for rehabilitation of other roads, but lack of adequate funds remains a major constraint. Some of the awarded for rehabilitation include: Ketu, in front of the  Police station along Ikorodu road,Olosha, in Mushin, Fadeyi, Apapa Dockyard, Ayobo Ipaja, which was left uncompleted among others.

Residents react: Mrs. Bukola Gbade, a resident commended the governor for the intervention and urged him to ensure final execution of the project. “The road used to be very bad, actually impassable but now we can heave a sigh of relief. The level the reconstruction has  brought a lot relief to people around here. I commend the government of Ambode”

Mr. Olivier Ogboh, aka, Osio, said: “We are happy that within 60 days of his administration, the governor could promptly come to our aid. But it will be appreciated if the rehabilitation is completed as soon as possible to alleviate our suffering on this road because it is a busy road. We say well done to the government

Permanentconstruction

“However, I want to beg the governor to intensify efforts to carry out permanent construction of the road because of the high influx of people to the area.”

Mr. Henry Okechukwu, while commending the government and the pace of work on the road, urged the governor to extend the scope of the project by including expansion of the Ori-oke link bridge, connecting Ikotun to Ejigbo. “This will take a lot of pressure off the old dilapidated bridge. We learned that in the original plan of the road there were supposed to be two bridges, one for the inlet and other for the outlet. But what we have is one single bridge for both outlet and inlet.”

Governor Ambode, in his determination to deliver the road in due course, it was gathered had mandated the contractor to finish work and deliver for use the project by the end of this month. The road serves as major link to several communities such as: Ikotun Egbe, Jakande Estate, Ijegun, Idimu, Egbeda, Igando, Mushin, Oshodi-Apapa Expressway, Festac, among others.

It will be recalled that Ambode, during an unscheduled visit to the area on July 16th, directed Lagos State Public Works Corporation, LSPWC, to move to the site within seven days to commence fixing of the road which had been degraded over the years. The governor described the situation of the road as “deplorable, regretted and unacceptable”. The road constructed over 30 years ago had been a source of worry and nightmare to residents, motorists plying the routes.