Delta to Step up Road Construction This Dry Season

By Sunday Okobi

Delta State Government has expressed its readiness to increase the tempo of infrastructural development particularly the construction of roads to ensure the speedy completion of ongoing road projects as well as rehabilitation projects started by the Governor Ifeanyi Okowa administration.

Speaking during on-the-spot assessment of some of the state and federal road projects embarked upon by the state government on Wednesday, the state Commissioner for Works, Mr. James Aguoye, said the governor was passionate at ensuring that the road projects were completed in time to boost social-economic activities across the state.

Some of the roads inspected by Aguoye, who was accompanied by the Information Commissioner, Patrick Ukah, include the 1.175 kilometres Cable Point Rroad ‘dualisation’;  the 1.2 kilometres Owa-Alidinma road project; Ute-Okpu/Owa Alero road project; the 24 kilometres Nsukwa/Ejeme Aniogor road project; the 5.4 kilometres Owa Alero road ‘dualisation’ and the 9.42 kilometres; Old Lagos/Asaba road dualisation project in Agbor,  Ika South Local Government Area of the state.

Nonetheless, the Works Commissioner assured the state that the  Old Lagos/Asaba road,  which is currently being expanded from its initial 7.3 meters to a dual-carriage way, would be delivered by January 2018.

Aguoye said: "The old Lagos/Asaba Road, Agbor, is a federal road which we (The Delta State Government) took over and is now being expanded from the initial 7.3 meters to a dual carriage way.

"As you can see, the bridge is almost completed. Again, there was a directive from the Federal Ministry of Transport that there would be a test run of the federal government rail under the bridge by the end of this month. That is why we are working day and night to ensure that we meet the target. Once that is done, we are sure that the contractor handing the road would be ready to hand it over to the state government before the end of January 2018."

On other road projects, the commissioner said the various contractors have been told to take advantage of the dry season and speed up their work in order to ensure that they meet up with the stipulated deadline.

Speaking in the same vein, the state Commissioner for Information, Ukah, said that Okowa administration is taking the road construction and rehabilitation projects seriously as part of its deliberate determination to ensuring that all the rural areas where completely linked to the urban centres.