The Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA) has warned that illegal structures on canals of Apapa/Tin Can Island Port, Lagos, could cause flooding.

A representative of the agency, Mr. Shakunle Oyekunle expressed this concern on Saturday when the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos visited the ongoing rehabilitation sites on the Apapa/Tin Can Island Port section of Apapa/Oshodi Expressway.

He said that clumsy illegal structures would block the waterways to cause flooding and constant degeneration of roads.

Oyekunle said that the agency decided to address the root cause of flooding along the axis due to predictions of heavy rainfall and flooding by the Nigerian Meteorological Agency.

“We tried to locate the problem and we discovered that most of the cross drains along this section is silted as a result of illegal structures built on the other end of the road occupied by sand dealers.

“The sand dealers are occupying those places illegally; the area where the major surface water on the road is supposed to flow straight down to the canal is being hampered by these people.

“Their activities are destroying most of the Federal Government infrastructure, including roads on this axis, and we cannot allow it to continue because the two major ports in the country are here.

“We would continue to carry out constant de-silting of the drains and rehabilitation work to make the roads on this axis good and stop traffic congestion.”

He explained that surface and underground drainage channels on both carriageways would be cleaned regularly to avert flooding.

He said further that the agency was going to liaise with the Nigerian Ports Authority on how to evacuate the illegal occupants.

Oyekunle assured that FERMA would restore all the critical sections on the highway after it finished cleaning drains, saying that water had destroyed the road pavement.

He said he was happy that the ongoing Apapa Trailer Park project was nearing completion and would address the challenge of indiscriminate parking of articulated vehicles.

He observed that indiscriminate parking of articulated vehicles could aggravate flooding and road degeneration. (NAN)

•Photo shows Apapa/Oshodi Expressway

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