Roads Leading To National Mirror Rehabilitated

Story by RAJI ADEBAYO

Effective transportation is the soul of economic and human development of any good nation, thus, there is need for effective and good condition of motorable roads.
Due to incessant downpour in the last few months, some of the major roads in Lagos State have gone bad as a result of the blockage of drainage caused by  indiscriminate dumping of refuse into the drains and canals resulting to the flooding water eroding the motor ways, hence, leaving the roads with pot holes.
This has been causing lots of hindrance to human and vehicular movements in the affected areas including Ikeja, the capital of the state and where National Mirror Newspapers is situated.
When Lagos State Government realized the negative impact of these bad roads on economic and human development, and its fulfillment of the electoral promises to the people of the state, two months ago, the state government through the Ministry of Works and Infrastructure constituted a 17-man committee to fix all the major bad roads in the state to ensure continuous free flow of human and vehicular movement in the state.
The 17-man road rehabilitation and maintenance committee solely charged with the responsibility of fixing all bad spots in the state.
While inaugurating the committee, the Special Adviser on Works and Infrastructures, Engineer Ganiyu Johnson, stated that due to the heavy rainfall in the last few months, some of the major roads in the state have gone bad which without any doubt has been a source of concern to the state government and they are set to overcome it.
It is the desire of the Lagos State Government to quickly bring to an end the agony being experienced then, that warranted the setting up of this committee which was saddled with the mandate to fix all the identified bad roads in the state.
Some of the identified areas to be rehabilitated include Ikeja Local Government Area, Iyana Ipaja, Iju Road, Lagos-Badagry -Okokomaiko, Barracks and Lagos Mainland areas, Pedro-Igi Olugbin-Bariga areas, Apapa-Oshodi-Toyota, Cele bus-stop areas.
Others to benefit from this exercise include Jibowu rail line to Funsho Williams-Oyingbo, Agege motor road sections, Ikotun axis, Iddo, Herbert Macaulay, St Finbars-University road, Diya Street, Ejigbo-Mushin-Isolo Road and Ayobo areas.
Last week men of the works department of Ikeja Local Government Area were seen rehabilitating all nooks and crannies of the inner part of the local government areas as part of its effort to complement the services of the road rehabilitation of the state government.
Men of the works department of Ikeja Local Government Area numbering about 30 were seen with various construction implements manned several area within Ikeja local government area.
Parts of these areas include road beside Africa Petroleum (AP) Filling Station at Oba Akran leading to Obasa Close where National Mirror Newspaper is situated. Also another set of construction team from the same department was seen working tirelessly to ensure that Oshifila and other parts of Anifowoshe are motorable.
This singular road is the road that connects anyone coming from any part  of state government secretariat, either passing through Adeniyi Jones or Awolowo Road to Oshodi-Abeokuta Expressway which links areas like Mangoro, Cement, Dopemu underbridge to either Egbeda side or Iyana Ipaja-Abule Egba side.
Due the major connectivity of this road there is always hectic movement of vehicles in the morning when people are going to their various working places either civil servants as in white collar job, banker or business men particularly those in Computer Village and along Awolowo road, within Ikeja under bridge and the evening while they are returning back home.
Due to several potholes in these areas, people spend more than three hours in a hold- up within this particular area before linking Oshodi-Abeokuta Expressway but with this rehabilitation from the works department of Ikeja local government council, the hold-up in the area has reduced drastically and people are now experience free flow of vehicular movement.
While speaking on the development, the Director of Press and Public Relations of the Ministry of Works and Infrastructures, Mr. Fola Adeyemi said Ikeja being the capital of the state and economic nerve centre of the state will need continuous attention to ensure that irrespective of the weather the roads are motorable.
He maintained that within the few days up till this moment of setting up a 17-man committee on road rehabilitation and maintenance several areas have benefited from the service of the team.
He disclosed that roads like Borno Way-Ebute Metta, Herbert Macaulay (Adekunle bus stop), Jibowu to Mosalashi (Empire bus stop), University-Moore Road, Apapa Road from Costain end to Oyingbo end, Hughes Avenue-Yaba, Funsho Williams avenue have gone through rehabilitation.
Other areas that have benefited are Barracks bus stop, Iyana Ipaja roundabout, Ijaiye-Isheri road, Cele bus stop, CBD comlex-Ikeja, Isolo road-Daleko, Iju road (Pen Cinema) and other areas within Lagos state.
Adeyemi explained that everybody knows that rain has not been favourable to motor ways, hence the people of Lagos should bear with the state government particularly during the rainy season but now that the rain has started to round off this year, the road maintenance operations and rehabilitation which was slow down due to rainfall has been stepped-up to meet the demand of the Lagosians.
He assured Lagosians that irrespective of the weather condition the target of state and local governments is to provide a smooth and motorable roads which has manifested in many of the Lagos State road as its utmost target.
He disclosed that all the road rehabilitation and maintenance programmes are to complement the over 400 roads construction programme currently going on in the nooks and crannies of the state.