We’re already rehabilitating roads destroyed by 2022 flood

Nathan Tamarapreye, Yenagoa

The Bayelsa government on Friday said that rehabilitating all the roads destroyed by the 2022 flood was underway.

The commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, Mr Moses Teibowei and his Information, Orientation and Strategy commissioner, Mr Ayiba Duba took journalists around the construction sites.

Teibowei explained that the government decided to go around and see that level of work done adding that by the end of July, all the rehabilitation works would have been concluded.

The team visited Onuebum/Otuoke road, Imiringi/Elebele road, Opokuma/Sabagreia road, Igbedi extension road among others.

Speaking after the tour, Teibowei said: “We have decided to tell Bayelsa people what the prosperity administration is doing with regards to roads that were badly affected by the 20202 floods and what effort the government is making to ensure that the roads are rehabilitated.

“We started with a visit to Onuebum/Otuoke site from there, we moved to Imiringi/Elebele road where we made some diversions because on that road, we were having regular accidents and we are replacing the iron bridges with concrete culverts. From there we went to Opokuma/Sabagraei road and to Amassoma road.

“In all the locations, work was ongoing and we believe that work will be completed by July this year latest. We also visited Igbedi extension. We are doing over 2 kilometres of the additional road after the government has done 4.5 kilometres which were commissioned last year.

“We also visited the outer ring road section 2 and 3 and other jobs are going in different locations of the state. The Onuebum /Otuoke road is always flooded perennially and we decided that there is a need to elevate the road from its present level to two meters height and so we are removing the asphalt.

“We are going to sand fill up to 2 metres height and provide culverts where necessary to ensure that it is not going to be flooded going forward.”

Teibowei also said the state government has awarded a contract for the rehabilitation of the road to Trofani on Sagbama/Ekeremor road also before Bolorua and after Bolorua, adding that work is ongoing.

“We are constructing both internal and major roads. For Ekeremor roads, we are talking about 42 kilometres. Nembe/Brass Road, 21 kilometres, outer ring road 21 kilometres, Glory drive Phase 2, 10.8 kilometres and we will tell you the cost implications later.

“We are also going to do from Sagbama to Tungbo. In the next one-week contracts will be awarded to rehabilitate the road. All the projects will be finished before the rainy season finally sets in,” Teibowei said.

Also, Duba said: “We have always maintained that we want to link up Bayelsa state and the roads need to be constructed.

“More projects have been approved we are doing this because Bayelsa state was created in 1996 and it is this bad that with what we contribute to the federation, there are still local governments that are not connected by road network and as a responsible government, we feel that it is unacceptable and we must link up these communities with roads.

“It is something we as a government want to do for the people and we will continue to do those roads. We won’t stop until we get it done and achieved.”