Reconstruction of Lagos-Ota-Abeokuta Expressway Begins After 20 Years of Neglect

The Lagos-Ota-Abeokuta Expressway is set to be rebuilt as the contracting firm Craneburg has commenced works on the 81-kilometer road, which has been deplorable for over two decades.

The flag-off ceremony, marking the official start of the reconstruction, is scheduled to take place on Friday, August 23, and will be performed by the Governor of Ogun State, Dapo Abiodun.

Craneburg began mobilising its equipment to the site 10 days ago, initially implementing palliative measures to make one side of the road motorable. At the same time, full-scale reconstruction commences in the other section.

The palliative works, which have already been completed, cover critical areas, including Sango-Ota, Pakoto, Ifo, Ewekoro, Itori, and Obada, where stone bases have been spread over the most deteriorated portions to ease travel during the reconstruction phase.

The Lagos-Ota-Abeokuta Expressway, a Federal Government-owned road, has been in a deplorable state for more than 20 years.

Previous efforts to rehabilitate the road under the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari were unsuccessful.

However, this year, the road was finally handed over to the Ogun State Government by the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Abiodun had previously expressed frustration over the bureaucratic bottlenecks that stalled the reconstruction.

He recalled joint efforts by the Ogun and Lagos State governments to take over and reconstruct the expressway, which the Federal Government delayed.

“The Abeokuta-Ota-Lagos road is a Federal Government road and has been in terrible 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,” Abiodun said.

“After waiting a month without a reply, we wrote a reminder.

That road was not handed over to us until the Federal Government came on board. The contract for the road reconstruction had been awarded since May this year.”

Recall: Residents of Ogun State had earlier called out Governor Abiodun on X over poor roads that litter the state. They post pictures and videos of terrible, non-motorable roads with the hashtag #DapoFixOgunRoad.

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