Minister of Works, Fashola Says Lagos–Ibadan Expressway Will be Completed by April, Calls for Calm

The Nigeria Minister for Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola has assured Nigerians that the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway will be completed by April 30.

Fashola, who gave this assurance during the inspection of the highway on Saturday, was accompanied on the trip by the Special Adviser to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Works and Infrastructure, Aramide Adeyoye, the Commissioner for Transportation, Dr Frederick Oladeinde, and other engineers.

He maintained that measures have been put into place to ensure speedy construction, despite the difficulties posed by the high volume of vehicles, poor soil conditions, impatience and recklessness of motorists, and other technical issues while construction is on.

He commended the traffic and law enforcement agencies from both Lagos State and Ogun, who intervened to reduce the impact of gridlock on motorists and commuters.

He said, “The contractors were working on the last stretch of six kilometers which was the most difficult aspect, to construct out of the entire 44 km of section one of the highway which spans from Ojota in Lagos to Sagamu Interchange.

“We will do our best to deliver this on the expected date which is the 30th of April.

“So far so good, we are on course, we are on the last stretch of the race. Often when you are running a marathon, as you get towards the end, you get fatigued as you see the finish line.

“We stayed focused, that is one of the reasons I am here to ensure that we will meet that deadline, fingers crossed, I hope that we do not have any unforeseen developments again,” he said.

Speaking on the constant accidents on the Otedola Bridge, Fashola said some properties needed to be relocated in addition to some engineering solutions to curb the menace.

He said the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway reconstruction/rehabilitation project would take care of disorderliness, including street trading, reckless driving and other excesses of road users.

He added that after the project is delivered, it will be easy for law enforcement and traffic regulatory agencies to enforce the order.

Earlier, the Federal Controller of Works in Lagos State, Umar Bakare and the Project Manager, Julius Berger, Amin Alkhalili, took turns to explain the progress of work and other technical details.