The Oyo State government in its effort to ease movement and transportation around the Apata-Odo Ona-Challenge axis, has assured road users of the axis that the 12.5 Kilometers road construction will be completed by December 2023.
The works on the road which has reached about 90 percent remain the median, walkway, streetlight, and some areas covered with asphalt.
The Commissioner for Public Works and Transport, Professor Dahud Kehinde Sangodoyin disclosed this while inspecting the progress of work during an inspection of the ongoing projects in Ibadan embarked upon by the Inspection Team of the Ministry.
According to the Commissioner, the inspection was focused on the work done so far since the last inspection in October 2023, and to reconcile what has been discussed with the contractor, and the engineers on site, the quality of the job, and the time of delivery.
He said, “We normally have a fixed time for the delivery of projects. When we came here in October, the contractor assured us that everything would be finished up on the carriageway by December, all things being equal”
“As it is now, they are going to make the delivery time on the carriageway in the third week of December. Some other road furniture that will be worked on are the street lights, traffic lights, and the removal of rubbles. We are going to make sure that the Ministry of Energy and the contractor will finalize the installation of the street lights”
“The contractor has done a good job. Where we are standing now is called Lay-by, and our projection is to accommodate the commuters; so that the vision for the road construction will not be derailed. This is what we are trying to do, that is to put it into use for commuters and passers-by.
Assuring the road users around the axis of the relief the road will bring after the completion, Professor Sangodoyin said they should express their appreciation to the Governor, Engineer Seyi Makinde, for the speedy work.
“We have broken the back of the project; it just remains the finishing part of it. It will relieve the commuters going from the Apata end to Challenge; they don’t need to go through the Benbo or 110 area. It will also add to property value here, and contribute to the traffic from one end to the other.”
On the commissioning, Professor Sangodoyin explained that the time will be fixed after the scope of the work is completed.
“For us, as of today November 16th, we have chosen the area which I called the Lay-by for us to use because the Lay-by will be able to accommodate those that will be coming to felicitate with His Excellency when it is time to commission this road, which will be decided by His Excellency.”
While explaining that the construction work has reached about 90 percent, the project manager, KOPEK Construction Limited, Anitomie Khainallah said the remaining asphalt will be laid within the next three days.
He added that the walkway and median would be completed in no time, with the assurance that the time frame for completion would be realized if everything went as planned.
Also, the State Government has decided to finish one side of the Dual Carriage Bridge along the Iwo-Road-Olodo-Odo-Oba road construction to alleviate the difficulties the motorists and road users encounter while plying the road.
This was made known by the Commissioner for Public Works and Transport, Professor Dahud Kehinde Sangodoyin, while inspecting the progress of work in continuation of the Scheduled Inspection of the ongoing projects in Ibadan.
In his explanation, the Commissioner revealed that with the speed of work of the Bridge, the first lane would be completed in the next five months and open for use, after which the work on the second lane would commence immediately.
According to Professor Sangodoyin, the measurement used for the construction of the Bridge will allow it to accommodate present and future flood occurrences, adding that the Government is working on a quality job that will conform with the international Bridge construction standards.
He said, “The work of the piling which is the critical aspect of the bridge is almost done. After the piling, all other things will follow: the columns, the decking, and others.”
“We thought that if we continued with the two lanes, the work may not finish on time, so with the advice from our consultant, we decided to complete the first phase of the Bridge to ease the movement of our people, and then continue with the second one.”
“The work is not slow at all; it is good to verify information. People should come to the site to confirm the speed at which the work is going. What should take twenty-one days to dry can’t be stopped when it is ten days. This is engineering; there are processes to be followed. It should be done correctly so that it will give the desired result: this is Bridge.
The Commissioner implored everyone plying the road to be a little patient as the Government is working assiduously to find a lasting solution to the flood problem in the area.
He said that the ongoing project is the beginning of good things to be experienced in the area.
Buttressing the stipulated time mentioned by the Commissioner, the consultant to the Governor on the project, Alelg Consult, Engineer Olayinka Alli, said that the work was divided into two because of the people’s safety and traffic.
He added that everything to hasten the work is available and that the rain that was delaying the process is gradually being taken over by the dry season.
While giving his assurance on the time frame to finish the first lane, the Project Engineer, Peculiar Ultimate Concern, Engineer Emmanuel Okonkwo, explained that one of the three Pile Caps which are the bases had been completed, seven out of the fourteen longitudinal beam reinforcements were ongoing, while the piling job had reached seventy percent.
He also said the level of work will reach forty percent in the next two weeks.
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