Completion of Bill Clinton drive bridge is promise kept – Bello
The FCT Minister Malam Muhammad Musa Bello has said that the long abandoned Bill Clinton Drive Interchange Bridge along the Umaru Musa Yar’adua (Airport road) which has been completed and is now open for use by the public is a promise kept by the FCT administration.
He made this disclosure over the weekend while inspecting the completed bridge in Abuja.
The minister who was represented at the inspection by the FCDA Acting Director of Engineering Services Department, Engr. Shehu Ahmad Hadi, said the completion of work on the bridge was in fulfilment of the promise made to the residents of the FCT and to complement the effort of the Federal Government on easing traffic movement in and out of the Abuja airport.
Malam Bello said what is left at the interchange bridge is to put finishing touches to the electrical work especially the street lighting, adding that the contractor has been fully mobilized to attend to the electrical aspect and to also start the lane making which will be one of the features to show the road as having been fully completed and open to traffic.
“You might recall that before the coming of this present administration, this bridge together with this segment of the road, including some stretch towards the Gosa village area had remained uncompleted. Traffic coming from the airport had to be redirected to go and take u-turn around the Giri axis of the road and then the traffic coming from Gwagwalada and going to the Airport was also diverteda” he said.
On the benefits to be derived from the completed bridge, the minister said: “There is complete ease of traffic flow now. Before now, when you see the traffic build-up around here, you can imagine the time it takes for motorists to get into the city and close on time when they are going out, especially some people who have flight to catch at the airport,’’ he added.
The minister remarked that the FCT Administration has also embarked on the a beautification of the entire stretch of the airport expressway as well as the Bill Clinton Drive, right from Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport into the city.
“The beautification seeks to adorn or give some kind of road furnishing in form of landscaping within the central median, at the buffer and as well as various interchange locations. By the time we are done with this beautification exercise, I think you can more or less compare this gateway road into the city to any world class city in the world,” he said.