…says road will serve as major route for industrial activities
Ogun State governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, has expressed satisfaction with the level and quality of work done on the Ijebu-Ode-Epe Road, declaring that the construction represents high standard found anywhere in the world.
The governor gave this position while speaking with newsmen, shortly after he inspected the progress of work done on the road, at the weekend.
He said the road project, which started in February 2020 had experienced some delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic, saying “with the work done so far, the project is 90 percent completed”.
Abiodun said with the level of development along the axis, especially in the Lekki Corridor of Lagos State, the road when completed would become a major evacuation point for industrial activities, while noting that the state has created industrial parks that would accommodate education, health and automobile cities.
He added that the road was chosen for construction by the people, and that it was among the 270 kilometres of roads built by his administration in the last two years as a deliberate initiative to ease of doing business in the state.
The governor said that construction of a flyover was ongoing at the Ijebu-Ode end of the road to put an end to the sufferings and unnecessary loss of lives on on Sagamu-Ijebu Ode-Benin Expressway.
While commending the contractor handling the road for doing a good job despite the unforseen challenges in the course of executing it, Abiodun disclosed that the Ijebu Ode-Epe Expressway would be provided with a trailer park and hotel accommodation “to enable drivers embarking on long journeys to other parts of the country to refresh and have their vehicles weighed before proceeding”.
Other facilities that would be made available on the road according to the governor, include security check points, fire and ambulance stations, and towing points to respond to accidents or any other incidents.
“In terms of the progress of this work, it has gone on point and on time. It is being delivered on time and we are very excited and happy with the contractor. He has done very well inspite of the unforseen challenges when we started this project.
“We are quite happy with how everything has turned out and we will continue to work together with our citizens. This is what Ogun State citizens wanted. They wanted this road constructed. We promised that we will do it, we are a promise-keeping administration and we have delivered on that promise and we will continue to do so”. Abiodun stated.
He stated further that each of the two toll gates mounted on the road have six booths for cars and two for trucks.
The governor added that a weigh bridge would be installed as the road would not only act as a link to Lagos State, but also to the south-east and south-south parts of the country.
“The road is almost complete. We decided to change a little bit, the scope of work, part of what was supposed to be in the first phase of the project.
“The first phase was the road itself all the way from the border between Lagos and Ijebu-Ode, and that has been completed. The next phase was meant to be the construction of the toll gates – one towards the Lagos end and the other in Ijebu-Ode.
“The toll booths, the gates are in place and the barriers have been installed. The project is about 90 percent completed. I believe that sometime by the end of next week, the one at Ijebu-Ode would have been completed with all the facilities”, Abiodun submitted.