Despite completing and commissioning a 30-kilometre stretch of the Lagos?Calabar Coastal Highway, the road remains closed to general vehicular traffic. The federal government has said this move is deliberate and tied to the road?s design and purpose.

Minister of Works David Umahi explained during a recent inspection in Lagos that the coastal highway was never intended to serve as a typical township road, but as a high-speed, limited-access corridor meant to facilitate seamless long-distance travel and major economic integration.

?It?s not going to be open to the public the way they think. The idea is that if you put your throttle at Ahmadu Bello, then you see yourself in Calabar. That is the idea,? Umahi said. ?If you allow it to become a township road, then you will see what will happen. There will be head-on collisions and the concept will be defeated as the road may be misused.?

According to him, only interchanges, flyovers, and underpasses will provide access to and from the highway. This, he said, ensures that the road maintains its design purpose as a fast, uninterrupted transportation corridor and not one subject to local congestion

Beyond access control, Umahi emphasised the government?s long-term infrastructural vision, noting that the coastal highway forms part of a new generation of Nigerian roads designed to last up to 100 years. This is made possible through reinforced concrete pavement and advanced engineering.

?Before, we were building roads, but today we are constructing roads. We are embarking on projects that are going to have a 100-year lifespan guaranteed compared to other roads where no contractor has ever given a commitment for more than 15 years using asphalt.?

The minister also addressed environmental concerns related to the coastal alignment, particularly in flood-prone areas and regions facing ocean surges. He assured that measures were being put in place, including boulder placement and retaining walls, to protect the infrastructure and surrounding communities.

?We are already doing protection works. That is why we are using Hitech contractors, the kind that water respects. Nigerians have nothing to worry about, we will protect the entire shoreline,? Umahi added.

He pointed out that the project is more than a transportation route; it is an economic enabler expected to significantly raise local productivity. ?We have already seen that the road has the potential to increase the GDP of Lagos by at least 20 per cent.?

The road is also expected to serve as a strategic evacuation corridor for goods from the Lekki Deep Sea Port and other logistics hubs. According to Umahi, the superhighway?s design, along with CCTV monitoring, solar lights, and 10-minute emergency response units, will transform national infrastructure standards and attract foreign funding.

?If it?s a new project, international funders are ready to fund it. The moment they saw the cost, the quality, and the speed, they said this project is undervalued. For me, that was a pass mark,? he said.

Umahi emphasised that long-term planning and sustainability, not public pressure, would dictate its rollout timeline. ?People are shouting because they don?t understand. But we are following engineering logic and strategic vision, and we will deliver in due time,? he explained. (Saturday Sun)

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