As the rains are gradually subsiding, Lagos State Government has disclosed plans to turn the entire State into a construction village going by the number of road projects that have been awarded by the state government for rehabilitation, construction, reconstruction, and regular maintenance when the rain finally subsides.
Special Adviser to Governor Sanwo Olu on Works and Infrastructure, Engr. Aramide Adeyoye, who disclosed this in a chat with journalists in her office, stated that with the improvement in the weather, Lagosians would witness massive road construction and rehabilitation in a couple of weeks to come.
She explained further that, contractors handling road projects at Ikorodu, Ijede, Agric/ Ishawo, Igbogbo, Bab Animasahun, Ojokoro Phase I & ii , Command / Ejigbo NNPC, Pen Cinema Flyover have been fully mobilized to move back to sites as soon as rains finally subsides. She commended Lagosians for their patience and understanding of the situation during the heavy downpours and its attendant effects on the road conditions.
“We commend Lagosians for their patience and understanding, we are on top of the situation now, rain is gradually subsiding and there is an improvement in the weather, with the volume of construction works on ground now, Lagos is just like a construction village now, you are going to witness a lot of transformation in road infrastructure in the next few months, as this administration is poised to take governance to the next level,” Adeyoye said.
On the on-going Apapa/Oshodi Expressway project, the Special Adviser expressed satisfaction that the State Government is enjoying good collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Works which is handling the portion of the project belonging to the Federal Government. She added that both the Lagos State Government and her Federal counterpart were using the same contractor for the project, which she noted has created good synergy in terms of materials testing, designs, outfalls, sizing, median, barriers and other technical areas.
“We cannot have it better than now on Apapa/Oshodi Express Way, there is no reason we should not get it right, the contractor on the Federal Government side is also the contractor on the Lagos State Government side, so we don’t have any problem on the issue of designs, outfall, medians, barriers, sizing because we are perfectly collaborating and complementing each other, using the same contractor made it easier,” Adeyoye explained.
While assuring Lagosians that road conditions under this administration would be better next year no matter the intensity of the rains, Adeyoye disclosed that the state government was putting a lot of measures in place to ensure that scientific methods are adopted in the construction of projects to avert a recurrence of the ugly experience next year.
According to her, the State Government in all the ongoing projects especially in the coastal regions was conscious of the choice of materials to use, while it has also reviewed its method on road construction to meet international best standard. This effort according to her is aimed at delivering a road infrastructure that can withstand any condition and stand the test of time.
“In all our new projects, we considered the topography of the state as a coastal state with low lying and constant rising water table, this has influenced our choice of materials; while we may consider hot patch asphalt in some areas, we may go for cold patch asphalt in other areas, depending on the topography of each area, we will use flexible pavements where necessary but we will always consider rigid and semi-rigid pavement to achieve durability. By the time we follow the international best way standard practice, I assure you, we will have a better experience next year, no matter the intensity of the rains,” the Special adviser said.
Source: THISDAY
