The Edo government has commenced palliative work at the deplorable Okhun Junction on Upper Siluko Road in Benin City, ahead of the full reconstruction of the road.

The deputy governor of Edo, Dennis Idahosa, while inspecting the ongoing work at the site on Monday, commended Governor Monday Okpebholo for including the road construction in the 2026 budget.

Mr Idahosa said he had promised residents of the area a few weeks ago that palliative work would be carried out pending when the rains subsided.

The deputy governor expressed excitement that the contractor had now commenced work.

Mr Idahosa also said Mr Okpebholo had mandated the ministry of works to start the procurement process for awarding the road project.

He said he had visited the site consecutively from Friday to Monday to monitor the work.

“We are here until this job is fully completed. We are not leaving,” he said.

Speaking at the site, Toyebi Oluwatomiwa, project engineer representing MCC Construction Company, said the road had suffered a perennial problem of water percolation.

He said the contractor had introduced a geotextile approach to address the problem.

“We have introduced a civil engineering practice of geotextile approach to resolve this problem, and that is what we are doing by laying hardcore and surface dressing it with three-quarter aggregate,” Mr Oluwatomiwa said.

Some road users also commended the ongoing work and expressed appreciation to the state government.

“We’ve been suffering because of this road, and now, we are already enjoying the road,” Nosa Oshodi, one of the residents, said.

Another road user, Michael Bankole, a transporter, said the condition of the road caused his vehicle to get stuck and damaged the previous week.

He, however, said the situation had improved with the ongoing work. 

(NAN)