By Transport Editor
SUNRISE – Amidst heavy downpours in the rainy season, the Lagos State Public Works Corporation has said it has continued to repair roads in many parts of Lagos where roads are in deplorable condition.
This was made known at the weekend by the Corporation’s General Manager, Engr. Lateef Somide, while speaking on the challenges posed by the current weather condition to road maintenance and rehabilitation operations as noted by many Lagosians.
According to Engr. Somide, even though it is a fact that road maintenance activities are impeded during wet season, Public Works Corporation has been structured to maintain presence on Lagos roads to carry out road repair works using various approaches that suits different weather conditions.
The General Manager said while one must acknowledge the fact that our operations have been largely slowed down by the rains, we are still fixing roads in various parts of the state through our strategies anchored on using various methods to provide relief to road users as well as effective monitoring of the weather which enables us to take full advantage of the dry days in between the rains.
He said further that use of asphalt premix is the major approach to fixing roads, but production and usage of asphalt in wet season is not an efficient method; adding that this is why we deploy our men to fix some roads with the use of interlocking paving stones while several roads are being treated with palliative methods, especially with the use of boulders to provide temporary relief pending full rehabilitation during clement weather.
Speaking on the Corporation’s strategy of applying weather forecasts to planning its operations, Engr. Somide noted that his agency has continued to make good use of dry days in between the rains, identified through weather forecast by deploying its men under a round-the-clock system to fix bad portion on Lagos roads. This, according to him has made it possible for some roads to be done with asphalt pavement within the past five weeks.
Some of the roads recently maintained using asphalt pavement include Bale Street, Old Ojo Road, MBA Cardoso Road, Ajeromi-Ifelodun, Ipaja Road; Moshalasi Round/About-Iyana Ipaja, Alimosho; Falomo under bridge, Civic Centre Lekki Expressway Ajah Inward Visland, Eti-Osa; Fowowe Street, Iju, IfakoIjaiye; Thomas Salako Street, Ikeja; Kings College Road, King George Street, Lagos Island; Town Planning Way by LSDPC, Spar, Coker Road, Mushin; Lisabi Street/Oguntolu Street, Somolu; Kudirat Abiola Way by NNPC Oregun and Capitol Road/Oyewole Road Off Old Ipaja Road, Agege.
In the same vein palliative work was carried out on some roads across the state using boulders and crushed stones. Some of such roads are Ijora Olopa Road Inward Ido/Idumota by Iganmu Bridge & Causeway, Apapa; Ogombo Road by Abraham Adesanya, Eti-Osa; Lagos Abeokuta Expressway (Abule Taylor-Meiran/Pipeline Road Junction), Ifako Ijaiye; Agunfoye Road, Ikorodu; Bola Ogunsanya Off Onanuga Tokunbo Macaulay Street, Shangisha, Kosofe; Ebute Ero Road, Lagos Island; Mokuolu Street, Ikeja; Kokoro Abu Street/Munirat Alaje, Ikorodu and Agege Motor Road by Terminal 2 (Olupese) and Terminal 2, Mushin, Aswani Road Off Osolo way, Oshodi-Isolo.
Interlocking paving stone was also used in fixing other roads such as; Idewu Road, Ajeromi Ifelodun; Ado Badore Road (Akins and Signboard Sections), Eti-Osa; Old Abeokuta Expressway (Millenium Estate, Canal Section Suco Section), Ifako-Ijaiye; CIPM Road, Amara Olu Street, Lateef Jakande Road Agidingbi/Ashabi Cole, Ikeja; Ibeshe Road, Ikorodu; Prince Adesoji Ajose Road, Ogudu, Kosofe; Herbert Macaulay Way, Lagos Mainland; Agege Township Stadium, Agege as well as CIPM Road/LJ Dosumu, Ikeja.
Speaking on the enormity of complaints on road defects by Lagosians across the state, the Corporations helmsman stated that almost all roads calling for attention across the state have been captured in a repository through information obtained from its engineers covering various zones, official social media handles, phone calls, emails media reports and other channels open to members of the public. He however assured Lagosians of his agency’s preparedness to aggressively fix all roads as the weather becomes more clement in pursuance of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s commitment to make Lagos roads remain motorable all year round.