By Nelson Utip
The Federal Government has commenced the construction of a 700 kilometer Lagos -Calabar coastal road project which will include repair of bridges and spanning nine states with a spur linking the northern states, this is part of a strategic plans for holistic economic recovery by the Tinubu administration.
The Minister of Works, David Umahi, CON made this known during the official handing over of the first phase of the project, made up of 47.47 kilometers dual carriageway, to Hitech Construction Company Ltd, the contractors of the gigantic project.
Accompanied by Engr. (Mrs) O. I. Kesha, the Federal Ministry of Works’ Controller in charge of Lagos State, Umahi emphasised the need for all contractors handling Federal Government’s road projects to complete within the stipulated time as the government would not allow variation arising from delays or slow pace of work once mobilization had been done.
The Minister commended Hitech Construction Company Nigeria Ltd for their quality and timely delivery of jobs and starting work immediately after the contract was awarded.
“They have completed some filling of 1.3 kilometer from the day the project was awarded to them.
It shows the speed they are going to deploy to this project. Within a couple of weeks, we awarded the project to them, they mobilised a lot of dredging equipment, and you can see that they have recovered 1.3 kilometer of section one of the phase”. Umahi said.
The Minister also visited project sites at the Queen’s Drive Ikoyi, the Third Mainland bridge top deck, the underwater, the Iddo bridge, the Eko bridge and Carter bridge, expressing the determination of the Federal Government to carry out a comprehensive rehabilitation of the bridges which he said are critical links between the Mainland and the Island of Lagos, the economic hub of the country.
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“ At the Third Mainland bridge, we have three or four critical elements to be rehabilitated. The first one is the deck, and the deck is about 11 kilometers × two. That is dual carriageway, including the ramps, and it has been done by CCECC. They have done very beautiful jobs, but we have not concluded. Before the end of March, we’ll be concluding the asphalt milling and the reasphalting. “
“But that is not all our commitment there. We are installing the guardrails, we are replacing the lights with solar light, we are going to put some decorative lights too, and then we are going to put CCTV camera both on top and under the bridge to check insecurity and illegal mining of sand, which is causing scouring on the piles and the pipe bits. The second job is that some sections of the slab are deflected, and so what we have done is to get an expert to understudy the level of deflection. That’s the tendons of the slab that deflected. And so, we are going to cut open the slabs, enter and then look at it, scoop it, and then reinstate the tendons of the slab. There’s nothing to worry about.
It’s been done at a Eko bridge by Buildwell. So, this one is not a threat to us at all.” The Minister said.
Umahi commended Julius Berger Nigeria Ltd for the restoration of deteriorated peirs and peir caps including the cover of peirs and peircaps themselves saying that the piles which he also inspected were the most critical of the works to be done.
The State Controller, Federal Ministry of Works, the representatives of Hitech Construction Nigeria Ltd, Julius Bergger Nigeria Ltd, China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation Ltd, and Buildwell Nigeria Ltd all promised to continue to work with the spirit of excellence in tandem with the Renewed Hope administration of President Bola Tinubu.
