Press Releases

LASU-Iba Road: LASG Appeals For Patience As Remedial Work Progresses

Jun 23, 2010 - The Lagos State Government Wednesday appealed to Lagosians for patience as experts work round the clock to rehabilitate a section of the LASU-IBA Road where a culvert failed in the early hours of Monday due to the heavy rain of the day before.

The Special Adviser to the Governor on Works, Engineer Ganiyu Johnson, who made the appeal at a joint press briefing at the Bagauda Kaltho Press Centre, Alausa, explained that the State Government is already taking measures to ensure that the state of the road is restored to normal to alleviate the traffic difficulties being experienced by motorists.

Engineer Johnson who briefed Government House Correspondents alongside his Transportation counterpart, Honourable Kayode Opeifa, explained that the heavy rain that fell on Sunday, June 20, caused flooding in Iba which resulted in the failure of a culvert across LASU-Iba Road at Aperan Canal near Agboroko.

According to him, a team of engineers who went to assess the situation and determine reasons responsible for the failure observed that the pavement on the side of the carriageway had collapsed forcing motorists to share the other carriageway initially, resulting in heavy traffic bottleneck.

The Special Adviser further explained that prior to the failure, water had built up in the low-lying areas around the road due to the construction of illegal structures across Aperan Iba and Agboroko channels.

"The possibility of huge volume of water had been identified by engineers working on the project at this and some other locations on the road", the Special Adviser said pointing out that plans were already afoot to address the problem by constructing multi-cell culverts at the locations before the incident occurred.

He said Messrs CCECC Nigeria Limited has immediately mobilized to site for remedial work while LASTMA officials are on hand to direct traffic.

Engineer Johnson said although he could not be specific about the time the portion of the road would be fully restored; everything is being done by the State Government to ensure the speedy rehabilitation of the road and restoration of normal traffic.

Also speaking on the issue of traffic build-up on the road, the Special Adviser on Transportation, Hon. Opeifa, said as soon as the news of the collapse reached his Ministry, LASTMA officials were deployed to the area and they have succeeded, with the cooperation of motorists, in maintaining steady traffic flow on the one side of the road that is not affected by the flood.

Opeifa said although he could not give specific date for total restoration of traffic flow on the road, "LASTMA officials are working very hard to ensure that traffic on the road is managed effectively so that people do not suffer unduly", adding that the contractor handling the project has assured that the road would soon be put in order.

The Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Media, Mr. Hakeem Bello, in his remarks, appealed to the media to avoid sensationalizing the development or any other incidents of flash flooding in the State, pointing out that the reality is that this is Rainy Season and Lagos is a coastal State lying below sea level.

The State Government, he noted, has invested heavily in the construction, maintenance and clearance of drainage channels and canals across the State, adding that with the Rainy Season and the State lying below Sea Level, "we cannot but have flash-flood" which drains off after a while.

He appealed to Lagosians to resist the temptation of dumping refuse into drainage channels saying this could only exacerbate the situation while also urging motorists to ensure that their vehicles are in good condition to avoid mechanical breakdowns that often lead to traffic build up on the roads.