Anambra begins reconstruction of failed roads ahead of Christmas

By Vincent Ujumadu Contractors handling major road projects in Anambra State have returned to site to reconstruct failed sections of the roads following a directive by the state government ahead of the forthcoming Christmas season. The development followed concerns over the failure of some portions of the roads, including sections that are yet to be officially commissioned.

The affected projects include the Amawbia-Agulu-Ekwulobia-Uga dual carriageway, the Agulu-Nnewi dual carriageway and other major roads across the state. The Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, Okey Ezeobi, had attributed the failures to extreme rainfall and flash flooding rather than the use of substandard construction materials. He, however, directed the contractors to undertake major reconstruction of the affected sections instead of carrying out temporary, spot repairs, in line with Governor Chukwuma Soludo’s emphasis on quality infrastructure delivery.

Barely 12 hours after the directive, the contractors reportedly mobilised to their respective sites, with reconstruction work commencing across the state. At the Amawbia end of the dual carriageway, asphalt on one lane had been completely removed, while sand-filling work was ongoing. Similar activities were observed at the Neni section of the Agulu-Nnewi road and along the Nnewi-Ozubulu-Okija dual carriageway.

During a visit to some of the project sites at the weekend, officials of the Ministry of Works were seen monitoring the progress of the reconstruction. Ezeobi had earlier dismissed allegations that the road failures resulted from poor construction, insisting that the contractors engaged by the state government were reputable companies capable of undertaking corrective work.

“Because of the quality of these contractors, they are able to return to site to effect reconstruction whenever there is any failure and they do this at no cost to the state. “If we had given the contract to small companies, they won’t come back to address the failures. We took time to select all the contractors working for us,” he said. The commissioner attributed the affected portions to the impact of natural disasters, recalling that the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) had earlier issued warnings about possible flooding during the year.

He explained that roads located in flood-prone areas were particularly vulnerable, citing sections of the Amawbia-Ekwulobia dual carriageway where swamps and underground water movements had contributed to the damage. “Roads along flood-prone areas in the state are adversely affected. For instance, the Amawbia-Ekwulobia dual carriageway is erosion-prone as there are swamps in some areas and the water there is always struggling to come up.

“So in the affected places, we will remove the asphalt and do cement-based stabilisation to help suppress further underground water coming up to destroy it,” he said. Ezeobi assured that the affected roads would undergo reconstruction and quality checks before being certified for public use. He added that the government would announce the official opening of the roads after the contractors had completed the work and the projects had been certified.