Widening existing roads better than flyovers, group tells Adeleke
Widening existing roads better than flyovers, group tells Adeleke
An Osun-based civil society group, The Osun Masterminds, on Wednesday, urged the governor, Ademola Adeleke, not to embark on the construction of two flyovers in Osogbo as planned.
Instead of constructing flyovers, the group suggested that funds that would have been expended on such projects should be used to make wider roads across the state.
Speaking with journalists in Osogbo during the state of Osun monthly media parley of the group, the Executive Director of TOM, Prof. Wasiu Oyedokun-Alli, also lamented the poor state of some critical road infrastructure in the state and called on the governor to act immediately to prevent further deterioration.
Oyedokun-Alli, who said even though some of the major roads fall under the supervision of the Federal Government, however, warned that abandoning the roads would have negative implications on the security of lives and property in the state.
He said, “We are compelled to call the attention of the Osun State Government to the state of some critical infrastructure in the State. One important example is the Ibadan-Gbongan-Akure highway.
“While we understand that the Highway is a Trunk A road and should primarily be maintained by the Federal Government, we advise the State Government to liaise with relevant agencies of the Federal Government to maintain the section of the road that is within the domain of our State.”
On the plans by the Adeleke administration to construct two flyovers in Osogbo, Oyedokun-Alli said, “We recently got informed of plans by the State Government to construct flyovers at Oke-Fia and Old Garage areas of Osogbo. We understand that plans are already underway to get these projects executed, but we want to offer a little counsel that may save the State some resources.
“As one of our subsidiaries, Transparency and Accountability Group (TAG), counselled against the construction of the Olaiya Flyover before it was implemented, we are counselling against the construction of flyovers at Oke-Fia and Old Garage areas. Our counsel is premised on the state of Osun’s finances, vis-a-vis the level of urgency of such infrastructure at the proposed locations.
“A simple dualisation of LAMECO – Oke-Fia – Old Garage stretch of road and signalisation of that stretch, will solve whatever traffic bottlenecks there may currently exist there. More specifically, traffic lights at LAMECO, Oke-Fia, and Old Garage, on a dualised road, will ease every traffic congestion currently being experienced on the road.
“We advise that the government redirects the funds it will expend on constructing flyovers, to widening major roads in towns whose major roads are currently too narrow for the kind of traffic that goes through them. Major towns like Ikirun, Iwo, Ilesa, Ejigbo, and Ila-Orangun are in dire need of wider major roads, to reduce the risk to lives occasioned by the dense traffic that passes through those towns.”
Reacting to the position of the group on behalf of the government, Osun State Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Mr. Kolapo Alimi, said the administration was open to counseling and advice especially when such were dispassionate and devoid of political partisanship.
Alimi also said the Adeleke administration has an infrastructure plan that has a sustainable funding model and which targets the facilitation of economic growth and development of the state.
He said, “On the issue of flyover in Osogbo, we assure the public that the project design is such that it will not create an unbearable burden on the state even as the state needs to upgrade her infrastructure to achieve economic growth.”
