The contractors in charge of reconstructing the Lagos-Badagry Expressway segment between Agbara and Badagry are back on the job.
Due to a lack of funds, the construction company, CGC Nigeria Limited, took all of its trucks and earth-moving equipment off the site all at once at the end of August to the surprise of local commuters, drivers, and residents.
The project’s abandonment resulted in a severe traffic bottleneck in the area that lasted for hours, especially whenever it rained.
At its worst, when traffic was at a standstill and became a nightmare for both drivers and pedestrians, delays in traffic began as early as 4 a.m. and continued all day and into the night.
It has been reported that CGC had set up about 12 of their caterpillars and other earth-moving tools near the Church-Gate location.
Additionally, some of the company’s employees were performing menial tasks like digging up muddy places.
Further investigation also turned up evidence that the company’s trucks had begun transporting filling sand from the Ikoga area to the Church-Gate location.
While everything is going on, expressway users have been jubilant by CGC’s return to the area.
Speaking to newsmen, Mr. Kamarudeen Alaka expressed his happiness at the return of the construction crew to the site.
He claims that due of the constant traffic, the Church-Gate section of the expressway has turned into a nightmare for both drivers and commuters using the road.
“That CGC workers are back to site calls for celebration.
“This has shown that our government is a listening one, we have begged them to pay the contractors so that they would return and now they are back.
“We thank President Muhammadu Buhari and the Minister of Works and Housing, Mr Raji Fashola, for listening to our cries,” he said.
Car owner Mrs. Elizabeth Ishola claimed that the traffic at the Church-Gate area caused by the abandoned project used to keep her stuck there for up to three hours.
She expressed how much it relieved her to see CGC employees back on the job site.
Ishola pleaded with the authorities to make sure that the workers received enough money so they wouldn’t give up on the project once more.
A senior employee of the construction company, who begged to remain anonymous because he was not authorised to comment on the company’s behalf, verified that the company had not received payment.
However, he claimed that the corporation and the ministry had a return-to-site arrangement.
Until the government paid the firm, he continued, the workers would not work “aggressively,” but rather “gradually.”
Traditional leaders in Badagry communities appealed to the Federal Government on October 19 regarding the abandoned Lagos-Badagry Expressway.
They admitted that they were really concerned about the abandoned sections of the road.
The Minister of Works and Housing had earlier informed the royal fathers in Badagry that the project’s first lane would be finished before the end of the year, according to the Onimeke of Imeke Kingdom in Badagry, Oba Abraham Ogabi.
“Instead of completing the project, the contractors have now abandoned portions of the project around Ibiye community.
“The abandoned portions of the road have become a problem to the people and whenever it rains, there is gridlock in which motorists and their passengers spend several hours on the same spot,” he earlier told the media.
