PROPERTY NEWS

Managing Director of the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA), Mr. Kabiru Abdullahi, has ordered the immediate reconstruction of the Ijora Causeway in Lagos.

He gave this directive last week when he paid a working visit to Lagos State to inspect ongoing maintenance works on federal roads.

To get the task done, he has directed the agency’s Zonal Director in the state to team up with Federal Road Maintenance Engineers (FRMEs) in the state to evolve a comprehensive technical and financial proposal towards achieving the objective before the commencement of the rainy season.

He said the that the major problem facing free flow of vehicular movement on the route was the collapse of the driving course and drainage channels as a result of heavy flooding caused by the blockage of the drains.

He therefore identified the channeling of water off the road to free it for smooth passage of vehicular traffic as the major engineering work to be carried out while the restoration of the driving course itself can be meaningful after a successful turnoff of water from the road.

Abdullahi said given the large number of industrial and commercial firms as well as traders operating in the area, workers and residents that commute through the route, it was disheartening that the same people that depend on the road would engage in acts that cause the deterioration of the important route and its support facilities only to end up complaining of neglect.

Abdullahi was particularly piqued by the dumping of refuse, parking of trucks and tankers on the road as well as selling of petroleum products, especially diesel under the bridges.

He said while the agency was battling with how to get enough money needed to maintain federal roads in the country, some people were of the habit of destroying these roads and as a result compounding the problem of the Federal Government.

He said several fire outbreaks caused by the unwholesome activities of retailers and marketers of petroleum products, which had resulted in damage to the bridge structures, have been recorded on the Ijora Causeway in the past.

He lamented that when these vital facilities break down, as is the case now, the livelihood and wellbeing of the perpetrators as well as that of other innocent road users are affected.

The FERMA boss stated that being the major access road to and from the nation’s premier port facilities, the Apapa and Tin Can Island ports, immediate steps need to be taken to reconstruct it.

While also inspecting on-going maintenance works on the Lagos-Badagry Expressway, the FERMA boss expressed his dissatisfaction with the level of mobilisation and pace of work on the project.

He threatened to terminate the contract if the contractor handling the project fails to change and show renewed commitment to the project within some days. He added that though the contractor had demonstrated a track record of impressive performance on the agency’s maintenance works in the past, the new management expects results on contractual commitment. According to him, the only yardstick of gauging the commitment of any contractors is on a project by project basis, not past records.

The company’s site agent informed the managing director that the firm’s management had assured him of the mobilisation of adequate equipment and engagement of personnel to the project.

Based on the pledge, Abdullahi directed the Zonal Director and site supervisors to report the situation on the site to him on that date to enable him decide his next move on the project.