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The Corps Marshal of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Dr. Boboye Oyeyemi, has applauded the Federal Government for resuming work on the Lagos-Ibadan expressway and other major roads across the country with the recent mobilization of contractors to site.
He assured that the Corps was determined to ensure that safety measures are observed in the construction areas through adequate warning signs and effective traffic management.
The Corps Marshal stated this at a joint meeting he held with the representatives of the Ministry of Works, Power and Housing and the two construction companies handling the Lagos – Ibadan Expressway project, Julius Berger PLC and RCC.
A statement signed by Bisi Kazeem, FRSC Head of Media Relations and Strategy, said Oyeyemi , who was represented at the meeting by the Assistant Corps Marshal in charge of Policy, Research and Statistics, Dr. Kayode Olagunju, expressed satisfaction with the commitment made by the construction companies to observe safety standards in the construction areas. He assured that FRSC will ensure that road users are saved from undue hardships due to omission or commission of the construction companies.
He particularly commended the Minister of Works, Power and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, for directing the construction companies to strictly adhere to safety standards, promising that FRSC in discharging its responsibilities would continue to collaborate with the Ministry to ensure that safety measures are taken in the construction areas.
The Corps Marshal identified a number of challenges that could undermine safety in the areas. These, he said, include inadequate signage at the construction sites, illegal openings and u-turns at dangerous locations and deep potholes as well as failed portions. Others, he said are failed hard shoulders, flooding, crocodile cracks and improper and dangerous diversions as well as inadequate lighting around the sites which could create hazards at night.
In order to address these challenges, Oyeyemi urged the two construction companies to provide standard and appropriate road signs in all the construction sites and ensure that uniform and adequate signage are provided to guide the motorists. He assured that FRSC will embark on joint field assessment patrol with the Ministry of Works, Power and Housing and representatives of the two construction companies to provide information on the location of the identified illegal openings for immediate filling and closure to traffic.
In addition RCC was advised to collaborate with the Police Force to provide more security backup in the area while it should extend the patching of the area to the Sagamu end of the expressway. In the same vein, Julius Berger was directed to ensure that concrete barriers are placed on the hard shoulders to prevent motorists from driving against flow of traffic, especially in the areas where the practice has been identified to be most problematic, such as MFM-NASFAT turning.
The meeting resolved that Julius Berger PLC should carryout repair work on the identified failed spots, which the site Engineer confirmed was already being handled in order to provide palliatives to motorists. Furthermore, RCC is to expedite action in completing work at the Ogunmakin area and to open the complete section between First Square and Ogunmakin during the forthcoming Sallah celebration to ease traffic flow.
The meeting also resolved that the two construction companies should provide adequate lights to illuminate the construction sites especially in the night, in order to avoid the dangers of unsuspecting motorists running into men at work or stationary equipment.
In his remarks at the meeting, the representative of the Minister of Works, Power and Housing, Alhaji Kayode Ibrahim, thanked the Corps Marshal for his proactive action in calling the meeting, which he described as timely and necessary. He expressed the appreciation of the Minister to the FRSC, saying the Ministry will sustain the collaboration with Corps to ensure that safety standards are always observed. In the same vein, the representatives of the two construction companies while expressing appreciation to the Corps Marshal for the meeting and the technical inputs, promised to observe safety standards throughout the period of the construction.
Among the FRSC officers that attended the meeting were the Zonal Head of Operations for Zone 2 Lagos, Corps Commander Ngueku Godwin; the Sector Commanders of Lagos and Ogun state sector commands as well as Unit commanders of the affected routes. Also in attendance were representatives of the two Construction companies and the Federal Ministry of Works, Power and Housing.
