Minister to contractor: Reconstruct Lagos-Abeokuta road with concrete or leave

The 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 of a seven-kilometre stretch of the road in Lagos State on Tuesday, October 8, 2024.

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

The minister said concrete pavement would address the threat of water to asphalt pavement, assuring that funds would soon be released for the completion of repairs of the remaining 11-kilometre stretch.

Umahi told the contractor handling the emergency repairs to concentrate on deploying the stone basement and re-opening it to traffic.

The minister added that asphalt could be laid by mid-November.

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

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

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“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.”

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

Kesha said: “Before now, this place was impassable. As I said in the news 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 back to the highway.”

The federal government had, on September 30, said the palliative works would be completed within two weeks.

The palliative works involve the filling of drum holes, laying stone bases, and applying a binding layer to ensure a smoother road surface.

The Star