Rufus Onimisi, South West 2 Zonal Coordinator of the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA) has shared the experiences of his men as they work to fix Lagos roads.

Mr. Onimisi on Thursday said the road maintenance agency was pushing to make roads in Lagos State more user-friendly.

He said that FERMA was engaging in night operations to avert gridlock.

He said that soldiers and policemen were usually deployed to help with security on construction sites, but hoodlums seize slightest opportunities to extort  workers or cause mayhem.

“Area boys will still come and we will still settle them; otherwise, they will disrupt the work.

“Last week they even macheted some people on site (Jibowu-Ikorodu project). Every night, area boys come to collect money but we were able to surmount the challenges,’’ he said.

He assured Lagos residents of continued highway rehabilitation  in 2021 to keep the roads in good shape.

“Our target for 2021 is to make our roads more user-friendly, motorable  as much as we can,l  and keep them in good condition as one of the major missions of the agency.

“We hope, by God’s grace, as funds are made available, to keep our roads in good condition,’’ he said.

He said that FERMA was carrying out  interventions on roads across Lagos State, noting that most repair works were usually completed within short periods and at night.

“Now, we are working on Jibowu-Ikorodu Road, Ikorodu-bound lane. Most of the time, we work at night because of traffic.

“Yesterday, we covered about 3,600 square metres; they used 320 tonnes of asphalt.

“We worked at Agege-Pen Cinema in December and we completed the work. if you go there, you will see our sign board by that flyover, it is a fresh asphalt work,“ Mr. Onimisi said.

He said that rehabilitation works were ongoing in Olodi-Apapa, Kirikiri, adding that work had been completed on Ikorodu-Itokin Road.

He said that FERMA handled a number of projects through direct labour.

Mr. Onimisi said that proposals had been sent to FERMA headquarters for evacuation of drains ahead of the rainy season to avert flooding.

He said that focus would be on Idi-Oro/Masalachi area of Mushin, Apapa-Oworonshoki Expressway, Olodi Apapa, Kirikiri and Western Avenue which all had perennial flooding history.

He said that vegetation control was carried out on Ikorodu-Itokin Road in December 2020 and January 2021. 

(NAN)