The Federal Government has initiated the construction of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, stretching over 700 kilometers, and the maintenance of critical bridges in Lagos. The Minister of Works, Engr. David Umahi, stated during the official handover of the project's first phase that the government would not tolerate any deviations arising from delays or sluggish pace of work after mobilization had been completed.
The Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway transverses nine states, with two spurs leading to the Northern States. The first phase, consisting of 47.47 kilometers of dual carriageway constructed in concrete pavement, has been awarded to Hitech Construction Company Ltd, according to a statement released by the Special Adviser, Media to the Minister, Barr. Orji Uchenna.
Engr. (Mrs) O. I. Kesha, the Federal Ministry of Works' Controller in charge of Lagos State, accompanied the Minister, who stressed the need for contractors handling Federal Government road projects to complete them within a record time. The Minister, however, applauded Hitech Construction Company Nigeria Ltd for its reputation for delivering quality and speedy work.
He stated, "They have completed 1.3 kilometers of filling since the project was awarded to them. It demonstrates the pace at which they will undertake this project. Within a few weeks of awarding the project to them, they mobilized a lot of dredging equipment, and you can see that they have recovered 1.3 kilometers of Section One of the phase."
The Minister also visited project sites at Queen's Drive Ikoyi, the Third Mainland Bridge top deck, under the water, Eddo bridge, Eko Bridge, and Carter Bridge, expressing the Federal Government's resolve to carry out a comprehensive rehabilitation of the bridges, which are critical links between Lagos Mainland and the Island. The repairs will not only cover the top but also under the bridges.
He said, "At the Third Mainland Bridge, we have three or four critical elements to be rehabilitated. The first one is the deck, which is about 11 kilometers in length and is divided into two places. That is a dual carriageway, including the ramps, and it has been done by CCECC. They have done a beautiful job, but we have not completed it. Before the end of March, we will conclude the asphalt milling and the reasphalting."
He added, "We are installing guardrails, replacing lights with solar lights, putting some decorative lights, and installing CCTV cameras on top and under the bridge to prevent insecurity and illegal mining of sand, which is causing scouring on the piles and the pipe bits."
"The second job is that some sections of the slab are deflected, and so what we have done is to get an expert to analyze the level of reflections. That is the tendons of the slab that deflected. We will cut open the slabs, enter and then look at it, scoop it, and then reinstate the tendons of the slab. There is nothing to worry about. It has been done at Eko Bridge by Buildwell. So this one is not a threat to us at all," the Minister said.
Earlier, the State Controller, Federal Ministry of Works and other representatives of Hitech Construction Nigeria Ltd, Julius Bergger Nigeria Ltd, China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation Ltd, and Buildwell Nigeria Ltd, assured the Minister that they would continue to operate in line with the spirit of excellence that the Renewed Hope administration of President Bola Tinubu represents.