Ogun State Government has commenced the reconstruction of the failed portion of the Sagamu–Ore-Benin Expressway near Sagamu to address the current traffic logjam being experienced by motorists on the road.
Governor Dapo Abiodun paid an unscheduled visit to the bad portion of the road on Sunday, saying that as a major road linking Lagos through Ogun State to the South East and South South of the country, its deplorable condition has caused untold hardship to those who ply it on a daily basis.
He said that though the reconstruction of the road was awarded by previous administrations, the contractors executed the project from the Benin end to the outskirts of Ijebu-Ode and could not complete it at the Interchange before abandoning it due to a lack of funds.
He said: “This is a federal road and it is probably the most important road to Southern Nigeria because it evacuates traffic carrying goods and persons from Lagos to Ogun State to the South-East and South-South parts of the country; it is a major arterial road.
“The reconstruction of this road was awarded several years ago by previous administrations. However, sadly, that reconstruction was started from the Benin end of this road.
“Sadly and curiously, from what we were told, the budget was not enough to allow for the completion of this road to the Sagamu Interchange. It stopped short of getting to Ijebu-Ode, somewhere around the outskirts of Ijebu-Ode.
“What we are seeing today is what our masses are suffering from. In the last three to four days, this road was totally impassable because, for some reason, there is a drainage that goes underneath this road that is meant to drain water coming from a canal. That drainage is completely blocked, and that is the cause of this problem.”
Governor Abiodun said officials from the State Ministries of Works and Environment are currently working to create another drainage that would channel water away from the road, while the bad portion has been filled with hardcore to make the road motorable.
He disclosed that he has brought the condition of the road to the attention of the Minister of Works, who has promised to look into how to award a contract for its rehabilitation or at least provide palliative measures or some sort of intervention to salvage the situation.
Governor Abiodun also said he informed President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on the need for the Federal Government to do something about the state of the road.
“Let me confirm to you that last week Thursday, I also brought the issue of this road to the attention of Mr. President. For the avoidance of doubt, let nobody think that Ogun State has not been responsive.
“Knowing fully well that the Federal Government has a lot of critical roads to deal with, and as a responsive state government, we deployed our Ministries of Works and Environment to this site. What they have done is identify the immediate cause; they found out there is a construction that has blocked the drain.
“I have sought from Mr. President so that the Ministry of Works can immediately award this road to a reputable contractor, and I know they are working on it.
“However, Mr. President has also instructed me that if we do not get the attention as fast as we want, the Ogun State government should go ahead and take ownership of this section and repair it,” he added.
Governor Abiodun promised that if within the next two days there is no clear evidence coming from the federal government to commence serious reconstruction work, his administration would step in to take ownership of the section of the road and carry out total reconstruction.