Surulere Residents To Smile Soon, As Road Projects Near Completion

Better days are apparently underway for residents of Adeniran Ogunsanya Street and  Ogunlana Drive in the Surulere area of Lagos State, South-West Nigeria as contractors  handling the hitherto bad roads have reiterated their promise to complete the road  projects by the end of October this year.

The roads, when visited by P.M.NEWS Metro recently, were at advanced stage of  rehabilitation.

The projects, which are being handled by HFP Engineering Limited and Plycon Nigeria  Limited, consists of a network of roads covering a total of 4.4 kilometres.

Prior to the rehabilitation of the roads, the entire road network was often congested  with daily traffic snarls due to the bad shape of the road and increasing activities in  the area.

It was also learnt that residential buildings were being converted for commercial use  within the area. For several years, the network of roads in the area had been single  carriage ways, thereby compounding the traffic situation of the entire axis.

Speaking during a recent tour of on-going projects in the Surulere Local Government  Council area, the Special Adviser to Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State on Works  and Infrastructure, Engr. Ganiu Johnson, said that the roads would serve as by-passes to  the Lagos-Badagry Expressway which is currently under expansion.

He added that the roads were also intended to compliment Eric Moore and Funsho Williams  Avenue upgrading works.

Engr. Johnson also maintained that the purpose of the upgrading was to open up the roads  for economic activities and create easy movement for the people of the area, thereby  enhancing their standard of living.

“The drainage work at Adeniran Ogunsanya has been completed while that of Akerele Street  is ongoing with pre-cast elements already in place. The roads are to be upgraded to a  four-lane highways with walkways, street lights, culverts and other necessary features,”  he said.

Commenting on the rehabilitation of the roads, the Special Adviser explained that the  state government had already secured the right of way for the 1.5 metres wide road, while  the fences of homes and organisations that were affected by the project work have also  been rebuilt at no cost to the owners of the properties.

At the project site being handled by Plycon Nigeria Limited, it was discovered that the  project was almost complete with walkways.

Engr. Johnson who was happy at the state of the projects, stressed that the project for  the reconstruction and upgrading of Bode Thomas Street has been awarded to Julius Berger  Nigeria Limited in order to complete the network of roads in the council area as well as  to enhance socio-economic activities in the axis which is fast becoming highly  commercialized.

The project manager, Engr. Edgar Ivanor, told P.M.NEWS Metro that the rains had been a  major challenge in the bid to complete the project on time.

Other challenges, he said, included the demolition of obstructing structures within the  right of way, establishing of new road alignment due to the presence of wells and septic  tanks as well as limited space for the relocation of existing tanks.

He, however, promised that the project would be completed and handed over to the  residents as scheduled.

Also speaking on the project, the chairman of Surulere Local Government, Dr. Razak  Folami, said he was happy, “the projects are at an advanced stage as this would help  traffic, beautify the environment and contribute to economic and social activities in the  area.

“The Ogunsanya and Ogunlana projects will create better links to other parts of the local  government and enhance the value of property in the area,” he added.

He thanked Governor Babatunde Fashola for his even development of the state and thanked  the Special Adviser to Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State on Works and  Infrastructure, Engr. Ganiu Johnson for the inspection visit.

—Eromosele Ebhomele