The construction of major road projects initiated by the Ogun State governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun-led government now at different stages of completion across the state is eliciting excitement among residents.
The road projects include Saje-Miliki-Elega road in Abeokuta, the state capital; the dualisation of the Iperu-Ilisan (Airport) road in Ikenne local government area and the Imoru road at Ijebu-Ode.
Speaking with a team of journalists who went on an assessment tour of the roads, the chairman of the Origami Alubarikaloju Butchers Association, Saje, Chief Oyedola Ibrahim, recalled the deplorable condition of the Saje-Miliki-Elega road, which, apart from negatively affecting their businesses and health, also led to incessant accidents involving school children in the area.
He said, “Before now, the dust really disturbed our business. We couldn’t sell our goods because our customers stopped patronising us due to the bad road, but now, our customers have returned. We now receive more customers because our road is in good condition.”
He, however, called for the provision of speed breakers to curb excessive speeding by motorists.
Also, Mrs Mujidat Fatai and Mrs Lateefat Adekunle, traders along the road, appreciated the governor for fixing the road, which they said was a nightmare for both motorists and pedestrians.
“We thank our governor for this laudable work on our road. He promised us, and he has fulfilled his promise. We thank him.
“Before now, this place used to be very dusty; we could not even display our goods because of the dust. But now we have a very good road.
We thank the Ogun State Governor for reconstructing this road that was abandoned by previous governments,” they said.
At the 5.3 km Ilishan-Iperu (Airport) road, Engr Opeyemi Ajole of Step Development Limited, the company handling the project, said work is progressing as planned, with earthworks having commenced, while the stone base will be done afterward.
“This is the Ilishan to Iperu road. It starts from Iperu junction to Ilishan roundabout, so we are doing the dualisation of the road and also creating a service lane into the airport. We will also work on the road that is going to link to the Sagamu expressway.
“The road is 5.3 km. Currently, we have already started with the earthworks. After that, we will do the stone base.
“It is a six-month project. We started about one and a half months ago; by the end of the year, we should be able to deliver this project,” he noted.
A resident of the area, Mrs Ogunlana Muinat, could not hide her excitement as she applauded the governor for turning the single lane into a dual carriage road.
She said, “Before now, when we approached the rainy season, we were always afraid because of the flooding we normally experienced. Many people had abandoned their properties and moved elsewhere. But with the type of drainage and quality of work being done here, flooding will be a thing of the past.”
