FG begins construction of 700km Lagos-Calabar coastal highway

The Federal Government has commenced the construction of the 700 km Lagos-Calabar coastal road with the handover of the first phase of 47.47 kilometers of the dual carriageway to the contractor on Thursday.

The 700 km highway traverses nine States with two spurs branching out to the North.

The Minister of Works David Umahi said the project is integral to the Federal Government’s comprehensive economic recovery strategy.

While emphasizing the importance of timely completion, Umahi stressed that contractors must adhere to strict timelines, warning that the government would not tolerate delays or slow progress after mobilization.

In a statement by his Special Adviser on Media, Uchenna Orji, the Minister, during the official handover of the first phase of the project to Hitech Construction Company Ltd, asserted that the road would be constructed with concrete pavement.

He commended the contractor for the quality and speedy delivery of the project, acknowledging the prompt commencement of work following the contract award, saying, “They have completed some filling of 1.3 kilometers from the day the project was awarded to them. It shows the speed they are going to deploy this project.

“Within a couple of weeks, we awarded the project to them, they mobilised a lot of dredging equipment, and you can see that they have recovered 1.3 kilometers of section one of the phase”.

Orji stated in the statement that the Minister, during his visit to project sites at Queen’s Drive Ikoyi, the top deck of the Third Mainland Bridge, underwater inspections, Eddo Bridge, Eko Bridge, and Carter Bridge, reiterated the Federal Government’s commitment to undertaking comprehensive rehabilitation of these bridges.

He said the decision to embark on the recovery projects stems from the critical role these bridges play as links between the Mainland and the Island of Lagos, the nation’s economic hub.

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According to the Minister, the repairs are expected to cover not only the top of the bridge but also the under bridge works, saying, “At the Third Mainland bridge, we have three or four critical elements to be rehabilitated. The first one is the deck, and the deck is about 11 kilometers × two.

“That is dual carriageway, including the ramps, and it has been done by CCECC. They have done very beautiful jobs, but we have not concluded. 

“Before the end of March, we’ll be concluding the asphalt milling and the reasphalting.

“But that is not all our commitment there. We are installing the guardrails, we are replacing the lights with solar light, we are going to put some decorative lights too, and then we are going to put CCTV cameras both on top and under the bridge to check 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 understudy the level of deflection.

“That’s the tendons of the slab that deflected. And so we are going to cut open the slabs, enter and then look at it, scoop it, and then reinstate the tendons of the slab.

“There’s nothing to worry about. It’s been done at Eko bridge by Buildwell. So this one is not a threat to us at all”.