BY PATRICK MGBODO
Relief came the way of motorists, especially residents of Delta State and those plying Asaba/Agbor expressway, as the Federal Government commenced remedial work on the deteriorated sections of the road by Ezenei Junction, Asaba.
On site to observe the palliative works, the Commissioner for Works (Rural and Riverine Roads), Mr. Charles Aniagwu, thanked the Federal Government for the intervention, urging them to expedite efforts to alleviate the prolonged suffering that Deltans had endured due to long hours of gridlock in that corridor.
Addressing journalists at the site, Aniagwu said Governor Sheriff Oborevwori was worried by the deplorable state of the road, which prompted the state government to synergize with the relevant federal authorities to intervene.
“The Governoror has been disturbed. Almost every minute, he calls to find out the situation. He had even directed, before now, that I get a contractor to move in here irrespective of what the Federal Government is doing because the people do not know if the road belongs to the federal government or not.
“We interfaced with the zonal director in charge of works at the Federal level and he assured us that he would get the contractors to begin this palliative work.
‘’We are happy that they are here but urging them to fast-track the process so that the contractor mobilizes more to ensure that the works are concluded in good time. This is the rainy season so they have to be fast with the palliative work.
‘’Before now, we have always tried as much as possible to intervene in the state of federal roads. The situation is even better in Delta because the state government always intervenes.
‘’Several federal roads in our neighbouring states are worse off but in our case, we have tried to dip into our meagre resources to fix these roads because we do not want our people to suffer’’, the works commissioner said.
Meanwhile, the Federal Comptroller of Works, Matthew Ogar, attributed the failure of the road to several factors including building on waterways, adding that the measures would be taken to address the waterlogged portions of the highway through the construction of drainages to avert reoccurrence.
Earlier, the Project Manager, Engr Duke Ighiere, who spoke for the contractor, Hartland Nigeria Limited, assured that the remedial works would be concluded on or before tomorrow to make the road passable.
