#Flooding: Take Ownership of Pen Cinema Flyover, LASG Charges Agege Community | AgegePulse Magazine

 

As part of efforts to address flash flooding around the newly constructed Agege Pen Cinema Flyover Bridge and other parts of the State, the Lagos State Government has called on residents of Agege community to stop indiscriminate dumping of refuse in drainage channels.

Agege Pen Cinema Bridge

Speaking against the backdrop of the recent flash floods experienced at Oke-Koto and environs after a heavy downpour, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Works and Infrastructure, Mrs. Aramide Adeyoye noted that the flooding was caused by clogging in the main collector drain conduits along Capitol Road.

Noting that the Agege Pen Cinema Flyover Bridge was designed to eliminate the perennial traffic gridlocks across the intersections at Agege, Adeyoye said the adjoining roads were also constructed by the State Government with an adequate drainage system to mitigate the recurrence of flooding associated with the corridor.

She added that the indiscriminate dumping of refuse in drainage channels by the residents of Agege community was solely responsible for the severe clogging and siltation of the drains, thereby resulting in the flooding as experienced recently at Oke-Koto.

The Special Adviser warned residents to desist from the act of dumping refuse into the drains, stating that the Emergency Flood Abatement Gangs (EFAG) of the Ministry of The Environment and Water Resources have embarked on desilting of the drains to allow free flow of run-off/stormwater and prevent flooding on the carriageway.

Adeyoye said: “At the moment the Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu led administration is making efforts to reduce the number of bad roads in the State. A drive through the streets and highways of Lagos will reveal that roads had either been repaired or are being fixed across many locations as Government is making frantic efforts to provide infrastructural facilities that will ameliorate the suffering of the citizenry”.

“Any road is as good as its drains, once we clog the drains with refuse, we compromise the integrity of the pavement and overall riding surface. Therefore, as we continue to prepare for the rains, people must stop the various abuses on road transport infrastructure challenges associated with the rainy season”, she added.

Speaking further, the Special Adviser emphasised the need to ensure the sustainability of road assets and optimise the level-of-service outcome in return for the most cost-effective financial input, calling on community leaders to be actively involved in guiding against vandalism of public infrastructure.

“The State Government holds as premium the responsibility of strategic provision of road infrastructure across the State. Sustainability also requires we engage with the citizenry to register in their subconsciousness and seek their support in terms of taking ownership of the roads and to guide jealously these collective assets against misuse and abuse”, Adeyoye stated.

Sanwo-Olu to Commission Agege Pencinema bridge Saturday | AgegePulse Magazine

Lagos State governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, will, this Saturday, commissioned the Agege Pencinema bridge.

Pen Cinema Bridge 

The construction of the bridge was started by the immediate past governor, Akinwunmi Ambode but the Sanwo-Olu' administration has completed it 

The bridge would ease the traffic on the Agege, Iyana-Ipaja, road.

While speaking at the ongoing 2021 Ehingbeti Lagos Economic Summit, holding at Eko Hotel and Suites, Victoria Island, the governor said the construction of the bridge is one of numerous results of the past Eghingbeti summit and a reflection of the public private partnership of the state government.

LASG reaffirms November completion, inauguration of Pen Cinema flyover bridge | AgegePulse Magazine

The Lagos State Government on Tuesday announced that it was working round the clock to meet up with the promised completion and inauguration of the Pen Cinema flyover bridge in November.

The Special Adviser to the Governor on Works and Infrastructure, Mrs Aramide Adeyoye made the pledge at a stakeholders meeting to flag-off the rehabilitation of Iwaya Road in Yaba Local Council Development Area (LCDA).

Adeyoye said the government usually chose the best experienced contractors to execute its projects because of the determination and deliberate policies for quality infrastructure delivery.

“We cannot afford to take bond money and then use it anyhow. It is not only that it is taxpayers money, it is bond money but it is ultimately tax payers money because you also pay tax so that we can refund that loan.

“So we were deliberate to say these things must be done well, people must be able to see what we have used it for (N100 Billion bond).

“That is why we have gone back to Pen Cinema to try to finish that bridge project and by the grace of God, that bridge would be commissioned by end of next month. We are working assiduously towards it and we will get there,” she said.

She appealed to residents of Iwaya to take ownership of the proposed construction and report any irregularities noticed to her office

She appealed to residents to call her lines anytime and day of the week to report irregularities on site.

“If a contractor is not doing what is not right, please don’t hesitate to flag us. Taking ownership is key,” she said.

She added that the Sanwo-Olu’s government was constructing roads to meet the needs of different communities across the state, adding that, no construction was done without consulting the people on what they need.

She explaines that the administration had adopted strategies to ensure successful completion of durable roads across the state, adding that, her ministry was an enabler for all the other aspects of the Sanwo-Olu administration’s THEMES agenda.

She listed various problematic roads including Mile 12 Road which engineering solutions and strategies helped to complete and deliver quality durable constructions to residents.

She reeled out other achievements of the government since it came on board in 2019 and appealed for the support of residents and other Iwaya stakeholders during the proposed construction.

Mr Olujimi Hotonu, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Works and Infrastructure said the meeting was important to address all concerns of stakeholders before take-off of the project.

Olujimi represented by an engineer, Mr Rotimi Thomas said rehabilitation of Iwaya road “will terminate sufferings” on the axis while boosting economic and social activities because of the strategic location of the road which had degenerated.

He explained that a credible process was in place with collaborating sister agencies towards the relocation of services as well as Right of Way recovery for services and structures on the project path.

The Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development represented by Mr Saheed Animashaun, a town planner stressed the need to seek the consent of residents on ‘Right of Way’ (RoW) recovery of the project.

“There is no way that some structures will not be removed but they will serve affected houses with notices. It is not immediately you are served that the structure will be removed,”he said.

He explained the process of evaluation and compensation as well as a seven days final notice before removal of structure on the RoW of the project

Presenting a brief the project, Mr Lateef Somide, the project supervisor said the strategic road starts from Onike and terminates at Makoko and was an access route to both the Third Mainland Bridge and UNILAG.

He said that the 1.4kms road awarded to Eastline Development Ltd, would have drains with covered slabs on both sides of the road to serve as walkways to residents.

“There will be relocation of services and it will be aligned with the road.

“And there will be longitudinal and transverse side ducts to prevent future cutting of the road to lay cables,”he said.

He explained that the area had high water table hence, the choice of interlocking stones as final layer to tackle previous problems of quick road degeneration.

He listed other accessories to be included on the road including a 24 hour lighting system.

In his remarks, chairman, Yaba LCDA, Mr Kayode Omiyale represented by Mr Lukam Thompson thanked the government for finally responding to the almost one year call; to fix the dilapidated road which had become an alternative route from gridlock.

Omiyale said that the road through Adekunle to Makoko was an easy link to the University of Lagos.

He thanked government for choice of construction materials meant to curb flooding of the road while calling for rehabilitation of other roads.

He also commended ongoing dredging of a canal on the axis which he noted would make the proposed construction the best durable choice to combat flooding.

He appealed that the only two inner roads in the area which were in deplorable conditions should be made motorable.

Contractors on the project promised to adopt construction methods that would bring minimum discomfort to the area as well as employment of some residents for site works.

Also residents on the axis took turns to thank the government for the project and raise concerns on the proposed construction.

Agege Pen Cinema Flyover Will be Ready by July, Says Sanwo-Olu

AgegePulse

Lagos Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has assured residents and motorists that the Agege Pen Cinema flyover bridge will be completed and commissioned for use by June ending or early July 2020.

The governor, who toured the project site on Friday in company of his cabinet members, said the bridge has reached 70 percent completion.

He stated June/July date was the commitment given by the contractors.

Sanwo-Olu also visited on-going work at the first segment of construction at the Lagos-Badagry Expressway, which is open to motorists.

The Agege Pen Cinema flyover, which connects Oba Ogunji road where it takes off and drops off at Agunbiade on the other side, also has a railway underpass and three abatements, splitting into adjoining streets all around Agege Pen Cinema.

Sanwo-Olu said: “At the completion not only would we see a major traffic gridlock improvement, we would also see real estate value coming back to the entire neighbourhood here and you could see better quality of life because it is all geared to ensure we continue to build smart environment and smart cities.

“This is one of the major flyovers happening right in the midst of Agege, so what it speaks to is the fact that what is good for the people on the Island is also good for my people right here.

“You can see road infrastructure, bridge infrastructure, all three coming to solve traffic, transportation and movement of human beings from one point to the other, and you can see economies, businesses coming up to flourish here.”

He appealed to citizens and residents around the area to bear with the government a little bit more and to exercise more patience and cooperate with the contractor, who has engaged many of them on site.

At the Lagos-Badagry expressway, the governor warned residents and motorists around Mazamaza- Alakija- Agboju against indiscriminate dumping of refuse, open defecation, illegal parking of tankers and trucks among other traffic and environmental nuisances on the expressway.

Sanwo-Olu noted that government has kept its promise made in July 2019 to deliver, quality, motorable roads to residents of the area, vowing to intensify enforcement of the state’s traffic and environmental laws.

According to him, before the end of the third quarter of this year, construction work will be concluded on the four point seven kilometres stretch of the Expressway from Agboju to LASU Gate.

The Governor, who was accompanied by his Deputy, Obafemi Hamzat and some cabinet members noted that the projects will ease gridlocks and boost economic activities in the areas.

#ForAGreaterLagos

Agege Flyover of Anguish

AgegePulse Magazine

Abiodun  Adefioye

It should have been sometime in December 2017 or so when bulldozers and other heavy-duty construction equipment moved in to the heartlands of Agege, a densely populated suburb of Lagos, pulling down structures that had earlier been marked for demolition, to clear the way for a flyover that would crisscross Oba Ogunji Road/Pen Cinema area over a railroad crossing and landing in Agunbiade Street/Oke-Koto area of the community.

 This was, no doubt, a laudable and timely intervention project in an area that had become notorious for intractable human and vehicular gridlock, which is compounded by the many road intersections and an avalanche of open and locked markets – both structured and spontaneous, as well as unscrupulous elements such as pickpockets having a free day both at daytime and nightfall. And so, the joy of the residents and many commuters around the popular Pen Cinema area knew no bounds, as they could see an end in sight to their daily grueling experience of living in or passing through the labyrinth that the suburb has become.


The residents had every reason to believe. At least, they had witnessed, within the last three years or so, how the construction of such a structure at nearby Abule-Egba, a sprawling neighbourhood on the ubiquitous Lagos – Abeokuta Expressway had not only given the area a facelift but also helped in no small way to scale up the quality of life in the area. I have heard testimonials of people, who had not been to Abule-Egba in a while, scream to high heavens at the transformation that came the way of the suburb. It really opened up the area and the adjoining neighbourhoods. So, this was the kind of transmogrification that Agege residents were looking forward to in no distant time.


I am not sure I can quote successfully the delivery timeline set for the Agege Flyover project, but the local media is awash with evidence of commitment to an early delivery. For instance, as picked from an online edition of Vanguard Newspaper of April 12, 2018, the contractor handling the construction work had promised the Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, that the flyover would be delivered by December 2018 “as special end of the year gifts to residents and visitors,” which was a piece of cheery news to all who had been salivating for the bridge to be completed and commissioned for use.And the pace with which the work was being executed from the beginning tended to lend credence to that. In no time, the substructures were fixed, the bridge support structures in form of columns and piers began to spring up and the beams laid at the set-out point. Before long, the superstructure were being fixed and the flyover was beginning to take shape, at least for the first half of it at the Oba Ogunji side, peaking at Pen Cinema Roundabout.


However, this initial pace notwithstanding, it soon dawned on the people that their waiting has just begun, as it became evident that the site has been abandoned and no work whatsoever is going on there. And that is my very axe that one has to grind with the Lagos State Government or whosoever is behind the stalling of this well-intentioned project. Agege is a densely populated area, aside from being a major road and rail transport terminus. What this implies is that the teeming populace that traverse the locale are constrained to undergo a daily gridlock of human and vehicular traffic, while the construction work lasts. This underscores the imperative of speedy completion of the job, which could only be made possible by working round-the-clock at the site. But that has not been the case!


The result is that commuters and other wayfarers on that stretch experience unbearable and excruciating pain on daily basis to cross the hurdle of Agege Pen Cinema and the railroad crossing to their various places of engagement. The gridlock,which starts as early as circa 5:30am each day, especially on weekdays, is further compounded by the debilitating state of most adjoining roads such as Iju Road, Abeokuta Motor Road, Capitol Road, etc., many of which are littered with craters and crevices. This causes corporate workers, traders, students, travelers and all other road users to fritter productive hours, while hoping endlessly for the crawling traffic to move. It is a common sight for these different classes of people to trek upwards of three kilometers or more to navigate the intractable traffic that dots the Agege landscape most days. And that is in spite of the yeoman’s sacrificial job being done by the officials of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority, Police Motor Traffic Division and other security outfits, both at regular and irregular hours of the day.


This is the real bone of contention. It goes without saying that workers, traders, students, etc. who undergosuch unpleasant experience before getting to their places of engagement would most likely have their productivity compromised. Also, one can further rationalize that passing through such unbearable encounter months after months has grave health implications for the victims. With Nigeria’s life expectancy data put at a comparatively low rate of 55 years, and Lagos State’s figure even much lower, subjecting the populace to avoidable drudgery is a major threat to longevity and quality life.

The point need be made, however, that the real issue here is not the inconvenience the work itself is causing the people. Such discomfort is a price to pay for development works especially in a built-up area, and so would be borne with equanimity in anticipation of the relief that would soon come. The real grouse is the abandonment of the work site for well over 3 months now and still counting, while the rains are beginning to set in. This can only worsen the plight of commuters who are stuck with that route, and make life more tedious for residents of the surrounding neighbourhoods. It is in view of the foregoing that one would call on the Lagos State Government authorities to, as a matter of urgency, mobilize the contractors back to site with a view to relieving the populace of the daily grinding and groaning on the stretch.

Punch Newspaper

OSHODI TRANSPORT INTERCHANGE: LAGOS ANNOUNCES CLOSURE OF FLYOVER TO FIX SKYWALK BRIDGE

…To Close Traffic from 10:00pm Sunday, July 1 To 5:00am Monday, July 2, 2018

Agege Pulse Magazine

The Lagos State Government on Friday said there would be partial restriction of movement on Oshodi flyover to enable it advance the ongoing construction of the Oshodi Transport Interchange.

This is with effect from 10:00pm Sunday, July 1st to 5:00am Monday, July 2nd, 2018.

In a statement signed by the Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, Mr. Ade Akinsanya, the Government said construction work at the Oshodi Transport Interchange had entered critical stage and the contractor Messer Planet Projects Limited would be hoisting heavy structural steel trusses for the assembly of the Skywalk Bridge.

Men of LASTMA, FRSC, Police, LAGESC, VIO, etc. would be on ground to manage traffic and provide safety and security support during the 7-hour night operation.

The Skywalk Bridge, the longest free standing pedestrian bridge in Nigeria at 53.4 metres long and six metres wide, would link Terminal One and Two buildings at the Oshodi Transport Interchange.

The flyover would be completely closed in the direction of Anthony to the Airport, while the motorists (in both directions) would now make use of the second carriageway, that is, the one in the direction from Airport to Oshodi to Anthony.

He said motorists coming from Anthony can either access Town Planning Way through Ikorodu Road or Apapa Oworonshoki Expressway and then turn to Ilupeju Industrial Avenue then link Agege Motor Road via Ilupeju bypass and make a U-turn at Bolade and turn to Apapa Oworonshoki Expressway.

“For motorists coming from Isolo/Airport Road, you can enter the service lane at Charity and turn to Agege Motor Road at Oshodi and then link Ilupeju Industrial Avenue via Ilupeju Bypass and then turn to Town Planning Way to link up Apapa-Oworonshoki Expressway,” the Commissioner said.

Besides, Akinsanya added that in the days and weeks ahead, there would also be closure on some certain section of roads within the axis to vehicular and human traffic, just as he solicited the cooperation and support of all road users plying the corridor to observe all the precaution signs on the road.

“We encourage individuals and groups that may have cause to use the network of roads and bridges passing through, or linking Oshodi and environ, to be alert to disruptions and danger associated with movement of heavy steel and equipment,” he said.

He added that the State Government has also put in place effective traffic management strategies to manage traffic situation during the period of closure.

He said the notice of restriction of the road became expedient to enlighten motorists and other road users to utilize alternative routes to avoid delay as well as obey traffic officers deployed on the road to ease movement.

Akinsanya also thanked road users and motorists for their support, patience and understanding since the commencement of the project, assuring that on completion it would be an iconic facility that would change the face of Lagos forever.

SIGNED

SINA THORPE

DEPUTY DIRECTOR, PUBLIC AFFAIRS

MINISTRY OF WORKS &