BY CHIKA OKEKE, Abuja
The Federal Government has provided detailed update on emergency repairs of failed bridges and highways across the six geopolitical zones as directed by President Bola Tinubu.
Addressing journalists on Wednesday in Abuja, the Minister of Works, Engr David Umahi informed that the essence of the intervention was to expand and modernise road infrastructure for sustainable economic growth.
He stated that the repairs would salvage some inherited ongoing highways and bridge projects across the zones that are on the verge of collapse.
The minister noted that President Tinubu's directive promoted the Federal Ministry of Works to articulate the conditions of such bridges and roads that are in dire need of repairs, some of which are currently procured while work is in progress in others.
He listed Third Mainland bridge, Carter bridge, Iddo bridge, Lagos-Ibadan bridges, Lagos – Badagry road, Ibadan – Ilesa, Ilesa – Akure-Benin, Ibadan – Oyo, Oyo – Ogbomoso –Ilorin roads as projects that needed emergency intervention in the South West.
"Among other emergency jobs that you have been seeing in Lagos, we are having a very deep conversation on the Third Mainland Bridge and Carter Bridge. We have presented it to the Federal Executive Council (FEC) and the Chairman in Council, Mr. President, who directed that the ministry should articulate the exact situation and bring it to the FEC for deliberation," Umahi added.
He assured that the Third Mainland Bridge is safe for light vehicles, not for heavy vehicles, as the government has already closed it against heavy vehicles.
"The Carter Bridge also has issues that Mr. President is going to address as soon as our memo is completed. We have a problem with the heavy trucks that are loading beyond our headrooms in the flyovers. We have a couple of them between Lagos and Ibadan bridges completed in the last administration.
"Some of them have been knocked down. The beams are knocked down, and the beams are the structural elements that carry the slab that are carrying the vehicular loads. Where the beam is not there, it means that it's not safe. For some of such bridges, we have closed down against vehicular movements. The Iddo Odo bridge was burned down during the past administration. It’s an ongoing project through Julius Berger.
"In the North East, we have a couple of projects that were sent in by the NSA. In Bauchi, we have repair works between chainage 25 and chainage 26. We have about four washouts in Azare on the long stretch of Kano to Maiduguri, which has five sections.
"Section one is terminated from Dantata and Sawoe about 100.9 kilometres. Already, it has been reawarded to Triacta. Funding will be a challenge, but work is ongoing. We have section five, which is at Maiduguri, handled by CCECC. Work is ongoing. We have been assisting them with SUKUK and i am sure that we will find a new source of funds.
"The first section that has been washed out between Bauchi and Jigawa has already been procured. We called the Triacta, which is very close there. He's going to put multiple culverts and raise the road above the flood level, a minimum of one metre above the carriageway, and put some retaining walls so that we will be safe there. Despite the rains, I commend the President who released some funds to tackle this. That's about four locations.
"In Gombe, Triacta is working there and we also encouraged them with SUKUK funding and budgetary provisions. We are doing quite a lot of work between Gombe and Bauchi roads.
"We have almost finalised the fourth legacy project of Mr. President, which is 439 kilometres by six lanes. It was done before and designed on asphalt. But now the President directed that for durability and conformity with other legacy projects, we should do it on concrete. That project is taking off from Akwanga to Jos to Gombe. We're also doing the road from Gombe to Bauchi, " he said.
The minister maintained that plans are underway to rehabilitate the Kebbe bridge in Sokoto State and other major projects that needed emergency intervention including the NNPC projects within the Northwest zone.
"In North West, Mr. President has directed immediate action in all the locations because the chain is as strong as the weakest link. If any section of the road or bridges gets cut, then the movement is impaired. You will not be able to move from one point to the other," he noted.
For North Central, Umahi said: "We have the Keffi Bridge where people were killed by overboarding vehicle at the flyover. We have settled with the families of the victims and that is through the man that killed them. We visited there, have rectified the problem and work is already ongoing. We procured CGC under emergency condition, since they are working at FCT so that they can start. It will involve the replacement of the beam that was knocked down, chiseling out the shoulder and part of the carriageway. It will involve replacement. We will do integrity tests on the remaining beams that were damaged, and then the bridge will be restored.
"On Katsina-Ala road, we just received approval from Mr. President on Tuesday to re-scope, review the project, and have it completely executed. We will try with the little resources to do palliative on that project."
In the South East, he hinted that the most important route is the Enugu - Onitsha road that was awarded to MTN by the past administration for N202 billion under Tax Credit, approximately 108 kilometres by 2.
"At the time we came on board, they had exhausted only N50 billion, and we had to descope the project. We took out 72 kilometres of the project and awarded it to SKCC for N150 billion. Work is ongoing there. What we did was to direct on emergency basis for SKCC and MTN to move immediately to the sections of the roads that are very bad, and within the scope of their work, do palliative, so that no section of that road will be unmotorable from Enugu down to Onitsha, " he added.
Umahi begged the people of South East to double their support for the re-election of President Tinubu for demonstrating enough goodwill to Ndigbo through many infrastructural investments in the region.
He disclosed that a number of roads mapped out for emergency intervention were rehabilitated through Public Private Partnership (PPP) in the South South, including Benin – Asaba road.
Umahi added: "We have the first Niger Bridge to the summit junction, about 11.5 kilometres by two. We have China Harbour and the Atland on that project, 225 kilometres from Benin to Asaba, but not connecting the summit junction to the bridge.
"On the basis of PPP, we awarded it to African Plus. They have started work but the other section which is 11.5 by two is handled by China Harbour. They felt that it's small for them, so we gave it to Atland. The President has also released some money to start the project."
He noted that under the NNPCL projects, the North has 53 percent and the south has 47 percent which was not fairly distributed, saying that South East has only 4 percent, and South West 5 percent.
The minister described the trending video on the collapse of shoulders of the Lagos – Calabar Coastal Highway as an orchestration of uninformed critics who darken counsel without knowledge.
He insisted that work is in progress in that section, noting that the crack was not a structural failure but a normal occurrence that happened on a sand- filled section of the shoulder (not the carriageway) due to rains.
"That section has not been completed. Section 1 is 47.47 kilometres by 6 lanes. There is the main carriageway where you have the shoulder. To work on the shoulder, we have to bury the cable ducts and put underground drainage. People even say there is no drainage there. That thing is not a structural failure at all. Whether it is a stone base you are using, or sand, or laterite, it is bound to happen. The moment water is pounding on it, it has to erode. You can go from Ahmadu Bello, where we have completed and find out whether you will see such a thing, because we have closed every aspect of the sand-filled or stone base filled areas," Umahi said.
The Minister of State for Works, Hon Muhammad Goronyo enjoined journalists to continuously uphold the tenets of journalism in their reportage, which are accuracy, objectivity and patriotism.
Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Engr. Olufunsho Adebiyi said that the Renewed Hope administration has set an agenda of returning the country to sustainable economic growth and prosperity.
Comments
Post a Comment