By Kingsley Adegboye
Minister of Works, Engr. David Umahi, has commended progress of work on the ongoing reconstruction of Shagamu-Iperu Junction-Ore dual carriageway.
Umahi who made the commendation on Tuesday while expecting the Shagamu-Iperu Junction section of the ever busy Shagamu-Ore- Benin expressway, however noted some key observations on the already completed spots of the ongoing project and called for their immediate correction.
Praising the quality of work done, the Minister who said over 50 per cent of work has been achieved despite the fact that only 30 per cent of the contract sum—estimated at ₦187 billion has only been paid to the contractor, noted thus: “I am very impressed with the quality and speed of work done here.
“This is road construction, not road maintenance. What we are building here should last a minimum of 100 years.”
Pointing out that some of the instrunctions given on specific aspects of the job were not strictly adhered to, Umahi ordered the supervising engineers to henceforth follow indtructions as given them or else there will be trouble.
He then ordered that all rigid pavements must be properly protected with laterite shoulders extending at least 1.5 metres to prevent water infiltration and premature pavement failure.
According to him, all poorly executed medians should be demolished and rebuilt to approved standards, insisting that any work done contrary to his instructions would be corrected by the contractor at his expense.
The Minister equally ordered the immediate commencement of drainage works where necessary, adding that solar-powered street lighting on the completed sections must be finished before the end of January or else the job would be reassigned to another contractor.
According to the Minister, the remaining two kilometres on this section should be completed shortly. By the end of the month, I expect the entire 24 kilometres here to be ready for commissioning.
He said the remaining 96 kilometres must be milled so that Nigerians can breathe on the road, stressing that “We cannot allow commuters to continue suffering while construction is ongoing. If the highway is well milled, if one lane is closed because of work on the other lane, motorists and other road users will not feel the pain while navigating through the highway.”
Meanwhile, explaining the scope of work of the project, the supervising engineer in charge of the Shagamu- Iperu Junction, Engr. Aderanti Ogini, said the reconstruction, rehabilitation and expansion of the highway cover a 12-kilometre stretch on both carriageways from the Sagamu Interchange to Iperu Junction.
Engr. Ogini disclosed that the project is being executed with rigid concrete pavement to enhance durability, pointing out that the12 kilometres on the right-hand carriageway have been completed, while eight kilometres have been completed on the left-hand side in line with the Minister’s directive.
According to him, the pavement structure consists of a 200mm concrete slab placed on a cement-stabilised stone base, reinforced with 20mm longitudinal steel bars and 16mm transverse reinforcement.
Also explaining the scope of work on the Iperu Junction–Ore end of the dual carriageway, Engr. Adebanjo Adebisi, who is the supervising engineer in chatge of the section said the project begins from Iperu Junction and serves as a strategic link between Ogun State, Ondo State and the South-East corridor.
According him, the 96-kilometre dual carriageway on both sides is being reconstructed with rigid concrete pavement to address years of pavement failure associated with asphalt roads.
He explained that the existing shoulders are being removed and rebuilt with a cement-stabilised stone base across the entire width starting from outer shoulder through the carriageway to the inner shoulder before the concrete pavement is laid.
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