Lagos-Abeokuta road: Minister insists on use of concrete pavement

Lagos-Abeokuta road: Minister insists on use of concrete pavement 

 

Dada Jackson

Minister of Works, David Umahi, has directed that the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway should be re-constructed with concrete pavement to address the threat of water to asphalt pavement.

Umahi gave the directive during an inspection of emergency repairs on a seven-kilometre stretch of the road within Lagos State on Tuesday.

He said the Ogun section of the road was already handled by the state government.

Umahi said that funds would soon be released for the completion of repairs of the remaining 11-kilometre stretch.

He told the contractor handling the emergency repairs to concentrate on deploying the stone basement and reopening it to traffic.

The minister said asphalt could be laid by mid-November.

He said that due diligence was in progress for the comprehensive reconstruction of the expressway.

“My recommendation for this road has been to use concrete, and it looks like the investor insisted on using asphalt.

“My coming here today has reinforced my belief and my conviction that what we will use here will be concrete.

”If the investor will not use concrete, he should go out of the road,” he said.

In her remarks, the Federal Controller of Works in Lagos State, Mrs Olukorede Kesha, thanked the minister for his interventions to bring succour to users of the expressway.

She said, “Before now, this place was impassable. As I said the last time, it was ‘drum holes’, not potholes and it was impassable.

“With your directive, sir, the contractor moved to the site, and we can see that life is being restored to the highway.”

The Federal Government on September 30 said that the palliative works would be completed within two weeks.