Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, weekend, declared that the 14.7km Ijebu-Ode-Epe Expressway would be ready for use by Christmas 2020.
Governor Abiodun said: “The contractors have assured me that they will intensify work on this road. I have insisted because we have Christmas approaching, and so, they must complete one segment of this road – one lane all the way to Ijebu-Ode.
“They, in turn assured me that in the next 10 days, they would have completed about eight to nine kilometres of one lane, and promised to ensure that by Christmas, the entire stretch going all the way from Epe to Ijebu-Ode is completed.
“Furthermore, we’ve just awarded the interchange flyover contract that will allow for ease of traffic from this road into Ijebu-Ode and onto the expressway, so that we do not have a situation where people are speeding on this road and they run onto Sagamu-Ore Expressway and then we begin to have accidents like we’ve seen in other interchanges or intersections.
“It is going to be a loop, that has been awarded. The contractor has started to mobilise and get ready to begin that loop.”
Abiodun added that the opening of the road would further open up the corridor for more industrial activity, while noting that the road when completed would also increase the efficiency of travel and longevity of road.
The governor pointed out that the road, when completed, would not only connect Ogun State to Lagos State, but connect the mid-western states of the country to the eastern part.
He noted that the road would also help to reduce the burden of traffic on Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.
“This road connects not just Ogun State to Lagos State. It connects the rest of the mid-western Nigeria to the eastern part of the country, so by doing this road, we are increasing the efficiency of travel, and longevity of the road itself.
“This stretch will now be open to more industrial activity as Lagos is expanding along Lekki corridor: this is where you have the Free Trade Zone, Dangote Refinery. Industrial expansion is in this area, so we are opening up this road to increased economic activity,” he said.
Abiodun said his administration has awarded the construction of Molipa Expressway, while noting that construction work would soon commence as the contractors have already been mobilised.
In their separate remarks, some residents, Oluwaseun Odumade and Oluwatoyin Omotayo, appreciated the Abiodun administration for the quality and network of road construction in Ijebu-Ode-Epe, Imowo-Ibadan and Awujale Palace-Stadium roads.
They noted that the roads when completed would aid the economic development of Ijebu-Ode in particular, and Ogun State in general.
Idowu Sowunmi
