The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Pen Cinema flyover

  • Work on Pen Cinema flyover, Airport road reaches advance stage

    Work on the Pen Cinema Flyover in Agege area of Lagos is now at 60 per cent completion stage, the state government said on Friday.

    The government also said the 10-lane Oshodi-International Airport Road was now at over 50 per cent completion stage, with an assurance that it would be completed by the end of the year.

    The design of the Airport Road includes reconstruction and expansion of the existing carriage to 3-lane Expressway on both directions, construction of 2-lane Service Road in both directions, construction of Ramp Bridge to provide a U-turn from Ajao Estate to Airport, construction of a flyover at NAHCO/Toll Gate and drainage works.

    Others include the removal of Pedestrian Bridge at Ajao Estate and construction of Pedestrian Bridges at Ajao Estate and NAHCO/Hajj Camp, construction of Slip Road to provide access to Ajao Estate, construction of Lay-bys and installation of Street Lights, among others.

    Speaking during an inspection tour of ongoing projects across the State, Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, Mr Adebowale Akinsanya, said it was gratifying to note that after delay caused by  rains, work had resumed in full swing across the State.

    At Pen Cinema project site, the Commissioner, who embarked on the inspection alongside other top government functionaries, said : “This is part of the review of ongoing projects in the state and we are at the site of the critical one which is the Pen Cinema Flyover along with Airport Road in addition to all other ongoing projects.

    “Most of the difficult parts of the work are already ongoing. Overall, we are at about 60 per cent completion stage and right now, we have over 70 major projects ongoing but as can be seen, work is ongoing,” he said.

    On the delay, Akinsanya said: “Unfortunately, it is difficult to fight nature and rain has not helped and what we are seeing is the result of the heavy downpour for the last few weeks but the work is ongoing and with the cooperation from the contractors, whatever time we have lost, things will be accelerated.

    “We have a good working relationship with Hi-Tech; they are committed to the project and I can assure the people that by first quarter of next year, this project will be commissioned by God’s grace,” the Commissioner said.

    Giving details, he said 10 out of the 14 pier walls have already been completed and seven ramps, while the casting of the super structure which is the high beam was progressing well.

    He said government was aware of difficulties being experienced with regards to potholes, saying Governor Akinwunmi Ambode had already directed immediate repairs statewide.

    “I like to thank his Excellency, Governor Ambode for giving us the necessary support. The governor is committed to the projects and along with this also is the challenge of potholes being experienced in the state.

    “We have been directed by the governor that once we have a brief window of no rain, the Public Works Corporation has already been mobilized to go all out every where across the State to get everything done within the next three to four weeks and so you will see our men working all over the road,” Akinsanya said.

    At Airport Road, the Commissioner said the project was a bit delayed to ensure that the quality of the work was not comprised and to minimize impact on residents, but assured that it would be completed by the end of the year.

    He particularly thanked residents and motorists for their understanding and support, just as he assured that the government remains committed to completing all ongoing projects.

    “To me, the critical thing is the traffic management because one of the key things we need to do is to minimize the impact on the citizenry. So, we have been doing a lot and work slows down because of traffic management because we want to accommodate the people living around this area and we don’t want to make things too bad for them but as we make more progress, traffic will get better.

    “For the people living in this area and the general public, I want to thank you for your understanding and support but please bear with us. This is a temporary thing and come January next year, you will see a brand new road. At the same time, there might be other things going on but the road will be opened. The work is taking some time because quality is very important. We don’t want anything to affect the quality of the work,” Akinsanya said.

    It would be recalled that earlier this year, the State Government embarked on repair and rehabilitation of 115 roads carried out by the Public Works Corporation apart from the 48 major roads totaling 129km that were rehabilitated and upgraded by the Ministry of Works and Infrastructure, while another 25 other road projects totaling 94km are ongoing.

  • Lagos restricts movement for Pen Cinema flyover

    The Lagos State Government on Friday imposed further restriction on vehicular movement at the Agege Intersection between Railway crossing and Church Street along Agunbiade Street in Agege area of the state.

    This, according to the State Ministry of Works and Infrastructure, is to ensure that the Pen Cinema Flyover is delivered on time.

    Under the new arrangement, vehicles coming from Ipaja road towards Ogba will no longer be able to turn left at Oke-Koto, but will be required to head straight towards Agege Motor Road and turn left  to connect the alternative route beside Agege Post Office to link Moshalashi Alhaji.

    Similarly, motorists from Old Abeokuta Motor Road (Abule Egba) towards Oke-Koto/Alfa Nla Roads are to turn right at Abattoir into Oko-Oba Road to link Orile Road and further their journey to NITEL into Orile Road and then turn into Fagbola/Adejobi Street to navigate into Agege Motor Road via Kasumu Street, Off Agunbiade Road.

    The state government regretted the inconveniences the restriction would cause motorists and residents, but appealed for calm and cooperation with traffic and security personnel deployed to ease their movement.

     

  • Airport Road, Pen Cinema flyover ready in December

    The 10-lane Airport Road and Pen Cinema flyover would be completed by December, the contractors handling the projects have said.

    The contractors, who spoke  during an inspection tour of ongoing projects by Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, also said the network of roads in Ilaje and Bariga as well as a new jetty through which Ikorodu, Apapa, Lagos Island, Badagry, Ajah and Epe could be linked via the waterways would be ready in July.

    Oshodi Transport Interchange, they said, will be delivered by September.

    Speaking at the U-turn flyover point on Airport Road, Ambode appealed to residents to bear with government for the inconvenience being experienced.

    He said the project was designed to change the face of Lagos for good and improve on the economy.

    He said: “As much as possible, we have tried to reduce the impact of traffic on residents and other road users believing that it is in the overall interest of all that we should have a standard road that leads to our international airport. I have been assured by the contractor that this project will be part of our Christmas gift; it will be ready before Christmas and we should be able to use it in conjunction with the Oshodi Bus Terminal and then make a major facelift of what we are having in this whole axis.”

    Ambode said government would soon commence payment of compensation to those whose structures gave way for the project once the necessary paper works are concluded.

    On the Oworonshoki Lagoon reclamation, designed to transform the blighted area to major tourism, transportation and entertainment hubs, the governor clarified that contrary to some reports in the media, the project was not a housing scheme but part of the overall programme for Lagos to emerge as the entertainment hub for Africa.

    He said 30 hectares land space have so far been reclaimed out of the 50 planned for the scheme, while upon completion, the project would end the perennial flooding in the area, and would also accommodate boutique hotel, event centres, cinema, clubs, bars, bus terminal, parking space with capacity for about 1000 vehicles, among others.

    The Governor hailed the contractor handling network of roads linking Bariga to Ilaje and a new jetty for the level of work done so far and the assurance that the projects would be delivered by July.

    He said in a bid to cater for the growth in economic activities that the projects would facilitate to the area, a comprehensive health centre would be commenced immediately in Ashogbon, while the additional 14 roads already approved to be constructed in Bariga Local Council Development Area (LCDA) would also be delivered on schedule.

    While inspecting the Maternity Centre in Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Ikeja popularly known as Ayinke House and the Pen Cinema Flyover, Governor Ambode lauded the contractors and medical personnel for a job well done so far.

    “When you add the total length of the Pen Cinema Bridge together, it is equivalent of Ajah and Abule Egba Bridges. In terms of the width, it is wider. We are impressed with the progress of work here; I am actually impressed with what has been done in the abatement area and the piling that is being done. We believe this flyover will change forever the economic landscape of the Agege axis because it comes with its economic value and expanding our infrastructure to this axis by complementing what we have in Abule Egba is the right way to go. I just want to encourage the contractors to deliver on schedule by December,” he said.

    He said the Ayinke House, which is designed to be the major baby factory for the state, would be delivered in June and commissioned for public use by July.

    The Ayinke House is a 162-bed space facility and expandable to 250, with other features such as 22 neo-natal intensive care units, 16 intensive care units for adults, five fully equipped theatres, laboratory, common ward, maternal and child care centre, among others.

  • Residents blame Pen Cinema flyover for traffic gridlock

    Residents blame Pen Cinema flyover for traffic gridlock

    SOME residents yesterday called on the Lagos State Government to adopt measures to reduce hardship on the road in the face of the ongoing road work in parts of the metropolis.

    This, they said, had become imperative following the resumption of schools after the Yuletide break.

    A News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) correspondent, who went round, reports that commuters were stranded at bus-stops as buses were held up in traffic.

    An engineer, Dayo Ogunware, who lives in Shasha, said the inner roads were blocked because of the pressure on the highway caused by the ongoing construction of the Pen Cinema flyover in Agege.

    Ogunware said the Agege axis served as alternative routes to vehicles from Sango Ota and environs.

    He appealed to the government to ensure the quick completion of the project to reduce road users’ hardship.

    “It was difficult to get buses this morning (yesterday). Traffic diversion from Agege Pen Cinema inward Agege Motor Road toward  Abeokuta Expressway as a result of the  flyover project is the cause of this problem.

    “The state government ought to have completed the ongoing Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) lane construction project on Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway before embarking on the construction of the Pen Cinema flyover.

    “The completion of the BRT lane would have contained the traffic diversion from Pen Cinema,” he said.

    A civil servant, Mrs Tade Olukoya, told NAN that she spent hours on the road because of the gridlock. She  blamed the government for poor planning.

    “We know government is working for our good but they should consider the stress we go through and plan better.

    “They should create alternatives for us, the whole of this area is locked down because government wants to construct many roads at the same time,” she said.

    But a businessman,  Tomi Olarenwaju, said the hardship was the price to pay for development.

    “The BRT lane when completed would eliminate traffic on this expressway,  same for the flyover in Agege, I think we need to be a bit patient,” he told NAN.

    A school teacher, Mrs Herrieta Uzorigwe, blamed the gridlock on resumption of workers from the holiday and first day of resumption for schools.

  • Pen Cinema flyover will be ready November, says Ambode

    Pen Cinema flyover will be ready November, says Ambode

    Lagos State Governor Akinwunmi Ambode yesterday assured that the Pen Cinema flyover at Agege will be delivered in the next 10 months.

    Ambode, accompanied by members of his cabinet, said the 1.4km flyover, which will run from Agege down to the Abeokuta Expressway, will be a key intervention strategy by his administration to address the perennial traffic in the area.

    Addressing scores of residents, the governor said though the project might bring inconveniences, he assured them that the end result will change the face of their environment forever.

    He said: “I want to reduce the sufferings that arise from the traffic congestion in this neighbourhood. So, I have decided to do the Pen Cinema flyover, starting from the beginning of this road by Total and then run straight for one kilometre down and then an additional 400 metres, totalling 1.4km to decongest this neighbourhood up to the Abeokuta expressway.

    “But, you can see that I have inconvenienced you by the demolition that has taken place here. It is temporal. In the next 10 months by the grace of God, we will deliver this project by November.”

    Appealing to residents to cooperate with the contractor ahead of the  planned closure of some parts of the road by tomorrow, Ambode assured residents whose properties were demolished for the project of adequate compensation.

    The governor said: “They (the contractors) are going to work day and night. But why am I here? First, to appeal to you for those that we have demolished their properties, we will compensate you fully.  Secondly, starting from Thursday (tomorrow), there will be partial closure of some parts of the roads here. So, we have provided alternative routes for your  vehicles . We will do this month by month. So, the area that we have finished, we would come back to the main road and Agege would never be the same again.”

     

     

    come to appeal to everybody, community leaders, all our school children that you should not worry, it has come with a little pain, but by the time we come back at the end of the year, Agege will look like Victoria Island and Ajah. Everywhere we go, we know there is economic prosperity around that neighbourhood, so my coming here is to plead with you to bear with us and cooperate with us,” the governor said.

    He said he would visit the site of the construction regularly to ensure the project is completed on time.

    Ambode also inspected the ongoing construction of the Oshodi Transport Interchange which is expected to be delivered by July.