As construction work continues on Abeokuta-Ifo-Sango-Ota-Lagos Expressway, motorists and commuters have expressed satisfaction about the pace and quality of work done so far on the ever-busy road.
It will be recalled that Governor Dapo Abiodun on August 23 last year launched the reconstruction of the expressway with an 18-month completion timeline.
Five gangs are working simultaneously at Olomore, Midgad/Metroxide, Papanlanto Junction, Owode, and the Toll Gate axis, where earthwork, stone base and drainage have been completed, while asphalt is being laid.
The failed portions at Brewery, Obada and Itori Junction up to Lafarge Cement Factory, Ewekoro, have been repaired and opened for motorists.
The Olu of Itori, Oba Abdul Fatai Akorede Akamo, fielding questions from reporters, noted that the road had been in deplorable condition for a long time due to abandonment by both the federal and previous state governments.
READ ALSO: Tinubu makes key appointments in Kano, Zaria Federal universities of education
He said: “This road has been abandoned for so many years. I thank God that Governor Dapo Abiodun took the bull by the horns and is committed to doing Lagos-Ota-Abeokuta Road.
“Though it is a federal road, Governor Abiodun said he would complete the road, and he has started it. Our governor is a man of his word, and his word is his bond.
“I have never witnessed such a governor in the state since my enthronement who says something and achieves it. We will tell our stories by ourselves; the giant stride of the governor on this road is still unbelievable.
“Governor Abiodun is a man of the people; he feels the people’s pain, and the governor is doing fine because he has someone at his back. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has been our governor’s pillar of support.
“What he met on the ground when he became the governor was so sad, but today, we thank God that God has revealed Himself.”
A transporter, Opeyemi Akindele, who plies the Abeokuta-Papalanto route, commended the contractor handling the project for a job well done, noting that with the construction, the rate of accidents has reduced, while traffic bottlenecks are now a thing of the past.
Also speaking on the current state of the road, a resident of Papalanto, Ololade Anjolaoluwa, said: “The road was very bad before now; the traffic around here was huge in the past, but now, we thank God that the administration of Governor Abiodun has come to our aid.”