Section 1 Of 4 Km Apapa-Wharf Road To Be Opened To Traffic January---Official

 The Federal Controller of Works in Lagos, Mr Godwin Eke has assured that Section 1of the four-kilometer Apapa-Wharf Road in Lagos State currently under reconstruction would be opened to traffic before the end of January.Eke said in Lagos on Wednesday that the measure was to reduce gridlock and hardship to road users plying the road.Yesterday, some of the workers were sighted working on the drainage channels along the CMS/Ijora bound carriageway of the road.Others workers were also operating earth moving equipment to do various construction works simultaneously on the main carriageway on the same section.Also, workmen were laying iron rod mesh as foundation to some portions leading to the CMS/Ijora Bridge.The workmen had completed the laying of asphalt on some portions of the road and were using their rolling machines to ensure its compactness.An engineer on site who craved anonymity said that work was also progressing on Section 2 of the project.The engineer said that the project was divided into four sections.The engineer said that the pace of construction in each section would depend on how fast the utilities in the Right of Way (RoW) of the project were relocated.The official said that there were both surface and underground utilities which include the covering of the gas pipelines, internet cables, water lines, 11KVA and 33 KVA electric cables in the RoW.The engineer said that these must be taken care of before their workmen construction works could start.“We are working here now because we have been able to identify where gas pipelines are and work around it.“We have also hung the utility cables that were removed here so that we can replace them in the new service ducts that we will provide after construction.“We cannot move to Section 3 without taking care of the various utilities.“The whole section is about 550 metres and we have done the drains more than half way on this side,” the source said.The engineer also said that all the precast elements needed to speed up construction works were ready.The engineer who conducted the NAN correspondent round the site said that the “total cross section of the road pavement is 600mm.“The road is made up of reinforced concrete called rigid pavement,” the official said.When contacted, the Federal Controller of Works said that the ministry was intensifying efforts to speed up the completion of Section 1, link it to the CMS-Ijora Bridge and open it to traffic.“We will open that section to traffic this month to reduce gridlock.“Relocation of services in the RoW is being done in phases as the funds are made available.“ A lot of money goes into relocation and it is not as easy as it seems,” Eke said.The controller cited administrative, cost of compensation, offices, vehicles as some of the items that required money when relocating services.Recall that the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola, had  on June 17, 2017 signed a N4.34 billion Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with AG Dangote Construction Company Ltd., and some other stakeholders for the reconstruction of the four-kilometre  Apapa-Wharf Road.The project which had a completion period of one year is being funded by AG Dangote Construction Company Ltd., the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and Flour Mills of Nigeria.