On Sunday, President Bola Tinubu officially opened the 36.02 km Apapa-Oworonshoki-Ojota-Oshodi Expressway, which links Tin Can Island and Apapa, two of Nigeria’s most important ports, with more expansive areas of Lagos State.
In addition to performing the symbolic presentation of the concrete-paved road’s plaque at the Gbagada stretch, President Tinubu also served as a virtual inaugurator of the freshly restored Third Mainland Bridge.
The President, speaking through Senate President Godswill Akpabio, declared at the project’s opening that the Apapa-Oworonshoki-Ojota Expressway would improve port accessibility, increase trade, and promote economic growth. The projects are being carried out by the Federal Ministry of Works.
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The road, which was initially built between 1975 and 1978, had seriously deteriorated over time, seriously delaying the removal of cargo from Apapa Wharf.
Using Continuously Reinforced Concrete Pavement (CRCP) and the tax credit form of infrastructure funding, Dangote Industries Limited rebuilt the road in four parts, with Hitech Construction Nigeria Limited serving as the subcontractor.
The rehabilitated Third Mainland Bridge, the longest of three bridges connecting Lagos Island to the mainland, spans about 11.8km.
It was commissioned by President Shehu Shagari in 1980 and completed by General Ibrahim Babangida in 1990.
The bridge recently underwent significant rehabilitation to improve its structural integrity and extend its lifespan.
”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.
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