By Seyi Babalola
President Bola Tinubu, on Sunday, inaugurated the freshly renovated Apapa-Oworonshoki-Ojota-Oshodi Expressway, a 36.02km route that connects Nigeria’s key ports – Apapa and Tin Can Island – to bigger portions of Lagos state.
Tinubu, who unveiled the plaque for the concrete-paved road on the Gbagada length, also virtually inaugurated the recently rebuilt Third Mainland Bridge.
Speaking during the inauguration of projects carried out by the Federal Ministry of Works, the President, represented by Senate President Godswill Akpabio, stated that the Apapa-Oworonshoki-Ojota Expressway will improve port access, promote commercial activity, and stimulate economic growth.
Originally built between 1975 and 1978, the road had deteriorated dramatically over time, creating considerable delays in the evacuation of cargo from Apapa Wharf.
Dangote Industries Limited used the tax credit form of infrastructure finance to rehabilitate the road in four parts, utilizing Continuously Reinforced Concrete Pavement (CRCP), with Hitech Construction Nigeria Limited serving as a subcontractor.
The restored Third Mainland Bridge, the longest of three bridges linking Lagos Island to the mainland, covers approximately 11.8 kilometers.
President Shehu Shagari commissioned it in 1980, and General Ibrahim Babangida completed it in 1990.
The bridge has recently undergone extensive repair to strengthen its structural integrity and extend its life.
”This is a great feat by any standards, and it is all for Nigeria. I congratulate the Ministry of Works and the contractors for the great work.
”It is not only in Lagos that these good things are happening. From the Presidential Villa in Asokoro to the AYA Roundabout in the capital city (Abuja), you will notice a great deal of work and some of these projects will be commissioned this week,” the Senate President said.
The Minister of Works, Engr. David Umahi explained the reason for the use of concrete technology in constructing the road, noting its durability, as well as the rising cost of bitumen used in making asphalt.
‘‘We want our contractors to migrate to the use of concrete technology for road construction,’’ the Minister said, while describing the inauguration of the road as another plus on the utility of tax credits in the country.
On the Third Mainland Bridge, the Minister explained that the project went beyond mere rehabilitation.
”We had to replace all the expansion joints, and we also noticed that over the years all the maintenance on the bridge was only for the surface and that created a lot of super elevation, pot holes, and increased the dead load on the bridge resulting in increased deflection,” he said.
In his remarks, the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Works, Dr. Yakubu Kofarmata announced that President Tinubu had directed the ministry to complete Abuja-Kano Road within one year.
He assured Nigerians that Makurdi-Enugu Expressway was on the verge of completion and that other federal road projects across the country are receiving attention.
According to the Permanent Secretary, the Minister of Works, Engr. Umahi has saved Nigeria a total of N1.19 trillion through renegotiations of some ongoing road project costs across the country.
”What we are witnessing today is Nigeria working under the Renewed Hope Agenda of this administration, and the determination to have a better Nigeria where infrastructural facilities are functioning,” the Permanent Secretary said.
The Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Dr. Femi Hamzat expressed gratitude to the President and the Federal Ministry of Works for fixing the roads, thereby reducing travel time from 7 hours to 1 hour and 15 minutes.
”About two years ago, a lot of companies on the Apapa-Oworonshoki-Ojota Road moved from this axis because of the deplorable state of the road.
”We are grateful to Mr. President, the Ministry of Works, Dangote Group and Hitech Construction Limited for the current state of the road and also for the Third Mainland Bridge,” the Deputy Governor said.
