Okitipupa-Igbokoda bypass ’ll offer alternative route

By Chris Chimezie
|
The construction of 12km Okitipupa-Igbokoda Road is to provide an alternative way to ease heavy traffic in Okitipupa town.

Ondo State Governor, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu stated this during an inspection of the level of work done on the road project which was flagged-off during his first year anniversary in office last year.

“The essence of this road is to divert traffic from inside Okitipupa town. We have to go through Okitipupa to Igbokoda and pass through markets and congested roads and we chose to have a bypass to assist traffic, hence the construction of the road.

“The Special Adviser on Infrastructure, Engr Raimi Aminu has been giving me reports on the level of works done here. We are just trying to traverse the construction now.

“A lot of work has been done at the other end of the road, it is a virgin road that we can now pass through and it is an achievement for us.

“For me, I know that we can trust the contractor because we know the type of work they do. We have seen their works in Ore and Owo”, he said

On his assessment of the job done so far, Akeredolu said the Company is doing a good job, saying he looks forward to their finishing on schedule and expressed the hope that if government is able to raise fund for them on time, it would accelerate the timely completion of the project.

“They have done far beyond the amount we have given them, so we have to struggle to get money for them to speed up their work.

“The terrain is very swampy and has to be stabilized. We thank CraneBurg for the good work it has been able to do”, he said.

Also, Special Adviser to the Governor on Works and Infrastructure, Engr Raimi Aminu attributed the delay encountered to the fact that owners of the land have to be duly compensated before the contractor started the work.

He explained further that at the beginning of the project, so many culverts that would guarantee long life span for the project were constructed.

“That’s why it was delayed. According to the contractor, the contract duration is 24 months, but he promised that within the next 18 months, the project will be delivered

Aminu further explained that the road was put up to ease traffic congestion within Okitipupa township

Earlier, Site Manager of Craneburg Construction Company in Okitipupa, Elias Harb, said work commenced on the project four months ago.

“We started from the beginning and the end of it, to meet in the middle, this way will speed up the work and ensure that the road project which is to be completed in two years would be completed and delivered as fast as possible”, he said.