Ogun begins reconstruction of Lagos-Ota-Abeokuta expressway 

Ogun begins reconstruction of Lagos-Ota-Abeokuta expressway 

Abdullateef Fowewe

The Ogun State Government is set to begin the reconstruction of the Lagos-Ota-Abeokuta expressway on Friday, August 23, 2024.

The flag-off ceremony will be performed by the State Governor, Dapo Abiodun based on a statement from the Ogun State Government.

The road was owned by the federal government but has been in a deplorable state for over 20 years. It was according to the release handed over to the state government this year by the President Bola Tinubu-led administration after previous efforts.

The contracting firm, Craneburg has according to the remark started mobilising its equipment to the site 10 days ago to begin palliative measures in an attempt to make one side of the road motorable, while construction proper begins in the other section.

The statement reads in part, “The palliative measures already completed on the road covered Sango-Ota, Pakoto, Ifo, Ewekoro, Itori, and Obada, with stone bases spread on the bad portions to make travelling less stressful while the reconstruction is ongoing.”

Governor Abiodun in the statement emphasised that bureaucratic bottlenecks stalled the reconstruction of the road stating he and his Lagos State counterparts were frustrated by delays from the federal government.

Abiodun noted that with President Tinubu, the federal government was approached again for the transfer of the road to the state, a request that was granted.

He said, “The Abeokuta-Ota-Lagos road is a federal government road and has been in very bad shape for long. Because of the suffering our people endure on the road, my counterpart in Lagos and I jointly wrote a letter using a single letterhead to the federal executive council, seeking the transfer of that road for us to reconstruct.

“After waiting for a month without a reply, we wrote a reminder. That road was not handed over to us until the present federal government came on board. The contract for the road had been awarded since May this year.”