Keffi To Get Flyover, Underpass

Work has commenced on the Keffi Flyover and Underpass in Nasarawa State, another landmark initiative in the Governor Abdullahi Sule-led administration’s series of legacy projects.

With the Lafia flyover and underpass completed and commissioned by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu last month, Sule performed the groundbreaking for Keffi the penultimate week.

This is even as the Akwanga flyover and underpass are nearing completion.

Described as a beacon of progress and innovation, the flyover and underpass, even before their completion, have greatly enhanced Akwanga’s aesthetic transformation, making it a modern, well-organised town with enhanced urban appeal.

Like those of Lafia and Akwanga, the managing director of the Nasarawa State Urban Development Board, Engr. Wada Yahaya Adamus said the Keffi Flyover and Underpass boasts a cutting-edge engineering design that will ensure durability, efficiency, and safety.

The project, estimated at N11.5bn, comprises a 100m overhead bridge. According to the project’s agreement, Bauhaus Global Investment Nigeria Limited is executing the flyover, which is expected to be completed within 12 months, with no room for cost variation.

At the groundbreaking ceremony, Gov Sule said the project’s essence, apart from serving as a strategic intervention to address the longstanding infrastructural deficit, was to check incessant accidents on the busy Keffi corridor.

“This project is a response to the tragic accident that occurred here last year, which claimed the lives of our sons. We must begin to think of engineering solutions that would reduce the frequency of such unfortunate incidents,” he said.

Engr. Adamus also confirmed that the key motivation for the project was an accident that occurred at the spot sometime in 2024.

“A lot of lives and properties were lost as a result of accidents at this particular spot. His Excellency may recall his directive in early 2024 that the NUDB should, as a matter of urgency and necessity, search for a lasting solution to the frequent accidents we have been experiencing at this point in Keffi. We quickly engaged the services of experienced engineers, both local and expatriate, and came up with the idea of the overpass,” he explained.

He disclosed that, in line with the administration’s policy thrust, the governor approved N600m in compensation for individuals affected by the project, with all parties already compensated.

The governor commended the State Ministry of Works and the NUDB for designing the project.

He equally appreciated the contractor handling the project for accepting to execute in one year according to specifications and without any price variation.

“I strongly believe that we squeezed him so much. At such a difficult time, we are taking 900m, also at a slope, which is a major challenge for engineering work. And for agreeing to do this job in 12 months at N11, 45,195,480, with an agreement that there is no variation whatsoever. The benefits derivable from this project are not only to the benefit of the good people of Nasarawa State, but the country at large,” he said.

He further said all the processes leading to the contract award were done in accordance with due process and diligence, having first obtained permission from the Federal Ministry of Works to allow Nasarawa State to undertake the project.

For his part, the managing director of Bauhaus Global Investment Nigeria Limited, Engr Ihab Serhal, commended Gov Sule for his vision and commitment to the state’s infrastructural development.

“You are not just building roads and bridges; you are building a future. We are honoured to be part of this journey. I thank you deeply for your trust. We pledge to deliver this project with the highest standards of quality, professionalism and speed worthy of the new Nasarawa that you are shaping,” he said.

For the hosts, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, Senator Ahmed Aliyu Wadada, and the Emir of Keffi, Dr Shehu Chindo Yamusa III, it was time for tributes to a quintessential leader who ensures equity and fairness in the distribution of democracy’s dividends across all the zones in the state.

They praised him for the transformative wave of infrastructural development aimed at fostering economic prosperity, enhancing urban mobility and improving the lives of citizens.