FG REROUTES COASTAL HIGHWAY THROUGH EAST-WEST ROAD

The Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi, has defended the Federal Government’s decision to divert the Ondo section of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, saying the original route crossed terrain with pits more than 100 metres deep and would have significantly increased construction costs.

Umahi spoke in Abuja while providing an update on President Bola Tinubu’s legacy road projects, insisting that the diversion was based on engineering considerations and the need to ensure value for public funds.

“I WELCOME PETITIONS”

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The minister said he was aware of petitions accusing him of diverting the route in Ondo State but maintained that the decision was justified.

“I am aware of petitions against me saying I diverted the Ondo section. I welcome that. That is how it is supposed to be because we are serving the public. You are subject to public scrutiny,” he said.

“But the important thing is whether you are doing the right thing or the wrong thing. We have no regret for decisions taken in Ondo”.

THE ENGINEERING CHALLENGE

According to Umahi, the original alignment passed through terrain with pits exceeding 100 metres in depth and lacked suitable sharp sand for up to 300 metres, making construction along the corridor considerably more expensive.

“You want me to pass through a terrain that you have over 100 metres of pits deep, and I have no defined sharp sand to 300 metres, and you expect the cost of one kilometre to be the same cost with a road passing through normal terrain?” he asked.

He said the ministry consequently undertook a detour and redesign to avoid the difficult terrain. “We had to take a very serious engineering decision by making a detour, redesigning it to avoid such route. We are doing filling of over 10 metres, which is 30 feet plus, with sharp sand, and filling is almost concluded,” the minister said.

THE EAST-WEST ROAD ALIGNMENT

Umahi also disclosed that Tinubu had directed that the continuation of the coastal highway from Ondo into Edo State should follow the existing East-West Road rather than a new alignment.

“Divert, do not do any new alignments. Pass the coastal highway through the existing East-West road,” the minister quoted Tinubu as saying.

He described the directive as a major development, saying the existing road had been constructed without adequate consideration for climate change and rising flood risks.

He cited flooding at Ahoada about two weeks earlier, saying the permanent solution would involve raising sections of the road to protect it from current and projected flood levels.

“The permanent solution is the decision of Mr President to align the continuation through the East-West Road. We now have to raise the road in many locations by two metres to be above present and expected flood levels,” he said.

PROGRESS ON THE COASTAL HIGHWAY

Providing an update on the wider project, Umahi said Section 1, a 47.47-kilometre stretch from Victoria Island, Lagos, had been completed and was ready for commissioning.

He added that the dual pavement on Section 2, which covers 55 kilometres and terminates at the Lagos-Ogun boundary, would be completed next month. The minister said the flyovers, overpasses and underpasses on Section 2 had required extensive redesign, particularly around the Dangote Refinery and Lekki Deep Seaport.

He explained that an 86-metre-span bridge, with 43-metre counterforts, had been designed to accommodate refinery trucks and resolve a traffic conflict involving the deep-seaport train, the Dangote tax-credit road and the 25-kilometre Seventh Axial Road linking Epe to the Sagamu Expressway.

At the Calabar end, he said Sections 3A and 3B, covering 65 kilometres, had achieved more than 30 per cent completion.

THE ONDO-EDO CORRIDOR

The diversion affects Sections 4A and 4B of the coastal highway, covering 67 kilometres, comprising 27 kilometres in Ogun State and about 40 kilometres in Ondo State.

The section will terminate around the Ondo-Edo axis. He put the Ondo-Edo corridor at 104 kilometres, including the 45-kilometre Benin Bypass, which he said would eliminate the need for motorists to pass through Benin City’s urban centre and help ease persistent traffic congestion.

“That is the only solution whereby you don’t have to pass through the urban centre of Benin City. This decision is going to boost the economy,” he said. ValidViewNetwork reports that the minister has defended the diversion as an engineering necessity and confirmed that the project will now follow the East-West Road alignment into Edo State.