By Stephen Olufemi Oni, Ilorin
Kwara state Government has sent a passionate appeal to the Federal Government to save the state from imminent disaster as a result of the collapsed Moro Bailey bridge and Ohan bridge, both in Moro local government area of the state, as well as the terribly washed-off road close to Oyun bridge in Ilorin, the state capital.
The state Commissioner for Works and Transport, Engr. Rotimi Illiasu, made the appeal during an assessment tour of the collapsed bridges and some dilapidated federal roads alongside the Director of the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA) in the state, Engr. Jato Abdulakeem.
He said: “Our appeal to the Federal Government, and Federal Ministry of Works in particular, is that they should speed up work on the new bridge that will serve as a permanent solution to the collapsed ancient Ohan bridge, in the interest of motorists and commuters plying the road on daily basis.
“Another appeal is to our representatives at the National Assembly, although, we have been engaging them and they also assured us that they will follow it up during budget presentation and also visit the Minister of Works concerning the federal roads in the state that are not in good condition, and we believe that in a very short time we will start to see changes on our federal roads.”
The Federal roads that are in bad conditions in the state, according to the Commissioner, include Olorunsogo/Geri-Alimi, and Asa-Dam/Offa-Garage.
Speaking on palliative measures to make the iron bridge more motorable, the Commissioner said he was in contact with the contractor handling the repair and he had assured him that it would be completed before the end of this week.
He said: “The contractor has commenced another palliative work on the iron bridge, I am in regular contact with him, and he has assured me that the palliative work on the bridge will be completed before the end of this week.
“But, what we are actually after is how the new bridge will be completed on time. It’s our job to keep reminding appropriate quarters and we will keep pushing until we get desired results,” the Commissioner added.”
The Commissioner also stated that his ministry would keep reminding FERMA on the earlier letter forwarded to the agency on the state of Oyun road in Ilorin that was washed off.
“Oyun road, particularly close to Oyun bridge, is another bad road, it was a road started by the last administration. It is a Federal road that the state is considering repairing and getting a refund later, but there are processes in doing federal roads in order to ensure refund.”
Speaking on the efforts of the Federal Government and its agency on the Moro Bailey bridge on Alapa road and other federal roads in the state, the Director of FERMA, Engr. Jato Abdulakeem, said: “Bailey bridge was a substandard bridge, in the sense that it was not designed to accommodate heavy vehicles and to that extent, it was making a lot of impacts on the panels and beams. Whenever it happens like that, as a federal agency, we always respond and do palliative repair on it to ensure that it is motorable again.
“We are aware of the current bad condition of the bridge, but, it is the Federal Ministry of Works that is doing the palliative work now because they are the one executing the ongoing new bridge project, and they are already doing the palliative work.”
Also speaking on Oyun road, along the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital, where a particular part was washed off due to erosion, Engr. Jato said the FERMA state office has forwarded letter and proposal to the Abuja office, and immediately approvals comes out, they would begin repair work on it.
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