To avert flooding on highways, the Federal Controller of Works in Lagos, Mr Adedamola Kuti, on Sunday said that the Ministry of Power, Works and Housing had begun cleaning of drains.

Kuti told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos that desilting of drains had begun in Ijora and evacuation of drainage channels on highways across Lagos would commence soon.

“Cleaning drains on highways are things we are doing very soon before the commencement of the rains. Watch out for us.

“Of course, for us to enjoy the rainy season, we need to ensure that some of these areas as we have identified are opened up for proper drainage,” he said.

Speaking on the Alaka Bridge project, where NAN saw workmen with equipment on the bridge descending Ijora carriageway, Kuti said that expansion joints were being replaced.

“It is the maintenance work we are carrying out on the Alaka Bridge because the maintenance work requires the replacement of some expansion joints that are bad, about eight of them.

“We have already completed the entire milling and resurfacing of that stretch of the Alaka Bridge even towards the Ijora end some of those silted drains have been cleared.

“Other works include the replacement of those hand rails, those guard rails will be replaced, some manhole covers will be provided to replace those vandalised,” he said.

He listed the inner routes where rehabilitation works had been completed in Yaba to include Adekunle, Herbert Macaulay, Sabo, Alagomeji and WAEC Junction roads.

“And we have done some work around Iganmu area, we have intervened somewhere around Barracks in Surulere as well as Ojuelegba.

“The interventions are continuous, we are picking them one after the other,” he said.

On potholes on some sections of the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway, Kuti said that the ministry was collaborating with the Lagos State Government on the repairs.

He explained that the contract for the rehabilitation of the highway had been awarded to Julius Berger and that the contractor was still working on site and was expected to repair the bad portions.

He told NAN that the collaboration was going to be around Abule Egba to Ota sections of the highway where the state government had an ongoing project.

“I will give instructions to that effect since the contractor is on site, the contractor is supposed to make the road motorable at all times,” he told said.

On the ongoing reconstruction and rehabilitation of the Lagos-Badagry Expressway, he said that work was ongoing on the first kilometer.

“Surveys are ongoing and the contractor has his equipment on ground and trying to get them in proper shape and has already started scarification and filling of some of the embankment and work has started.

“We are working on the first kilometer stretch, from Agbara,” he said.

Commenting on the Third Mainland Bridge, Kuti said: “We completed the investigative test last year.

“The results are out and we have an idea of the number of critical expansion joints that we are replacing. Just last week, we did a confirmatory test on some of the piles.

“We actually sent some divers into the water to confirm the state of some of those piles, so work is ongoing because the contract itself includes the maintenance work on some of those piles that are having problem.

“No cause for alarm, serious work will soon start, materials are getting in soon but meanwhile, surfacing works on the Third Mainland Bridge is ongoing.

“We have already completed the Island bound carriageway, we are working on the mainland bound,” he said. (NAN)

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