Roads & Construction
Fashola Lists Benefits of Loko-Oweto Bridge, Road Project
Minister of Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN, said the Loko-Oweto bridge and the linking roads when fully completed would be of great benefit to the communities along the corridors of the project, motorists, and commuters that use the route.
Fashola listed many benefits of the project while on inspection. He disclosed that the bridge had been completed and what remained was the approach roads to the bridge.
Fashola said, “This is about my fifth visit here since 2016 when we started out as Power Works and Housing Ministry. There was essentially nothing here. We now have a bridge over the River Benue, 70 Kilometers road linking Benue State to the bridge and we also have another 74 kilometers of road linking Nasarawa State into the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
“This Bridge has been finished about two or a year and a half years ago but we are waiting to connect the link roads. The link roads are substantially finished now and I think I can comfortably go and report to Mr. President that this bridge is now ready to be formally commissioned and opened to traffic.”
Speaking on the benefits of the project, he said that the Loko-Oweto bridge would provide a shorter route for commuters and motorists. He said that despite the fact that the project has not been officially opened for use, it has offered shorter routes for travelers and reduced travel hours to its barest minimum.
“I remember it used to take about four and half hours from Mabushi in Abuja to get here. The main problem was the 74-kilometer road part of which we are standing now. That road is essentially finished so it took about 30 minutes to get here from the approach road. The journey from Mabushi to here now is two and a half hours from four hours,” he said.
Still speaking on the benefits, the Minister said the project has further demonstrated the commitment of President Muhammadu Buhari to infrastructure growth and development of the nation saying, no nation can produce without infrastructure and that it was the legitimate means of distributing the wealth of the nation.
He said: “But it is important to inform Nigerians that those who speak about production, the economy, should come here and learn what infrastructure can do. You cannot produce without infrastructure. You cannot drive an economy without infrastructure. So, they should come here because this bridge is actually a test case that demonstrates the commitment of Mr. President to infrastructure as a way of boosting our economic growth.”
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