The Niger Government Road Maintenance Agency (NIGROMA) has began the rehabilitation of some failed section of the Minna-Bida road.
Mrs Mary Berje, Chief Press Secretary to Gov. Abubakar Bello, in a statement in Minna on Thursday, reiterated the state government’s readiness to reconstruct and dualise the Minna-Bida road.
Bello noted that the road which was constructed 35 years ago, had outlived its life span and was beyond palliative maintenance.
“Presently, excavators have been deployed on the Kakakpangi end of the road to ensure that the road was not damaged completely.
”Government will continue to maintain the road as well as other roads.
The governor pledged that proper reconstruction of the road will begin after the rainy season.
He urged commuters to be patient with the government, as was doing everything possible to reduce users’ suffering.
NAN reports that the road that the 83 km road, was cut off on Tuesday following three days of downpour, leaving commuters stranded.
The road was temporarily closed to traffic following the collapse of the major bridge.
Most affected are commuters traveling to and from the south west part of the country.
NAN also reports that the state government said it would spend N1.55 billion on rehabilitation of the road.
The road would be rehabilitated in two phases, with the first phase – Garatu to Minna – gulping N800 million and the second phase – Garatu to Bida – costing N750 million.
He said that there were about 11 bad spots along the Bida-Minna road that posed serious danger to motorists.
