Persistent Rains Slowing Down Edo Road Projects- Afegbua

De-Patriot News

The Edo State Government has assured residents and road users that ongoing efforts to rehabilitate and reconstruct major roads across the state remain on course, attributing the recent slowdown in construction activities to persistent rainfall.

The Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Prince Kassim Afegbua, said all major roads linking Edo State through its various entry points have been awarded to contractors for rehabilitation or reconstruction, assuring that the Governor Monday Okpebholo administration remains committed to fulfilling its promise to rebuild critical infrastructure and improve road connectivity across the state.

Afegbua explained that the persistent rains had made it difficult for contractors to sustain construction activities, noting that projects including the Benin-Ore Road had temporarily slowed down because of heavy rainfall. He also pointed to the Benin-Agbor Road, where reconstruction is ongoing under a concession arrangement to deliver a 10-lane road, as another major project affected by the weather conditions. According to him, the Benin-Warri Road was similarly affected, stressing that work had commenced on the major road projects but that the intensity of the rains had made rapid progress difficult.

He recalled that shortly after assuming office, Governor Okpebholo identified road infrastructure as one of his administration’s major areas of intervention, particularly following what he described as the abandonment of several critical roads by the previous administration. Afegbua noted that the Benin-Irrua Road, which had been abandoned, was restored to public use within two months of the governor’s assumption of office through emergency remediation works. He added that the administration had also invested in several other link roads across the state, while the flyover at Ramat Park on the Benin-Agbor corridor was constructed as part of efforts to improve traffic flow and ease transportation.

The Commissioner acknowledged the hardship being experienced by motorists and other road users as a result of the current condition of some of the roads, assuring the people that the government was equally concerned about the situation.

He appealed to Edo residents, motorists and other road users to bear with the government until the rains subside, assuring that construction activities would be accelerated once weather conditions become favourable.
“Once the rains slow down, we will speed up the works on the affected roads to remedy the situation,” Afegbua said, reaffirming the Okpebholo administration’s commitment to rebuilding critical infrastructure across Edo State and delivering the dividends of democracy to the people.