Accidents, delays as work on Abuja-Kaduna Express way progresses
The Federal Government has made good its promise to repair the highly damaged Abuja-Kaduna express way. The federal government had promised to fixed the road as part of an arrangement to see to the free movement of air travelers from Abuja to Kaduna who will, from March 8, be compelled to use the Kaduna International Airport when the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja would have been shut down for repairs.
Air travelers to and from Abuja would be transported to and from Kaduna airport by road.
The sorry state of the road which has claimed many lives due to disrepair in the past and later assumed notoriety as convenient route for criminal activities ranging from highway robbery to kidnapping was a source of concern to travelers, airline personnel and government officials who would be using the road for the six weeks the Abuja airport would be shut down.
Our correspondent observed that for two weeks now, the Federal Ministry of Works, Housing and Power has succeeded in mobilizing the firms handling the repair work to site and work has been going on consistently.
But the work has introduced a whole new experience to travelling and has added to the concerns of travelers.
Some who have used the road recently say while they appreciate the work being done, the ongoing work has impeded movement on the high way and has caused unnecessary delays and wastage of man hours while travelling.
They say also that they have reasons to believe that it has also increased the number of accidents on the road.
Our correspondent observed that the firms handling the work prefer to work on both lanes at a time, blocking some parts at a point to divert traffic to the other lane and opening same at a point to divert to the other at another point.
This has led to many diversions on the road with other consequences such as hold ups, reduced speed and traffic congestion as both on-going and incoming vehicles are made to travel on same lanes for most of the time.
But the most worry has been the increase in the number of road accidents on the highway due to the diversions and closure of roads.
A regular traveler on the road, who identified himself as Musa said he has for the nearly four years he has been travelling regularly on the road, not witnessed the kinds of accidents he has seen in the past two weeks.
Musa, who works in Abuja but travels every weekend to see his family in Kaduna said on a particular day, he witnessed two fatal accidents that would have been averted for not for the congestion on the road.
He said one happened around Rijanna village when due to the closure of the lane that goes to Abuja, compelling motorists to use only the lane leading to Kaduna, a motorcyclist coming out of the village made to overtake a tanker and he was crushed in the process.
The other one he said occurred at a village near Akilibu, when a motorist trying to overtake another vehicle from the right lost control and ran into some people selling firewood, killing one lady that was by the roadside and injuring many.
Some travelers also recall witnessing a head on collision between two salon cars around Rijanna due to the same reasons.
“There’s no doubt that accidents have increased as some people are not aware that the road is under repair while some have not yet adjusted to the many changes on the road due to the work going on,” Musa said.
A lady at Gonin Gora who says her name is Gina, told our correspondent that the area has now become very noisy due to the high number of vehicles trapped in hold ups at the place.
“We usually experience slight go-slow in the morning and in the evenings when people are going to work and when they are coming back from work, but these days, there’s a permanent hold up all the time and so much noise from the cars,” she said.
She said, however, that it has created business opportunities for some of the residents who sell items to commuters, adding that it is also apparent that the number of highway crime has reduced due to the high number of security personnel on the road.
Other road users complain that the grind caused by the repair work going on has added to the cost of travelling as they now waste more fuel before getting to their destination.
Martin Onu a commercial driver said he noticed that his car consumes more fuel than before. “Before, if I buy a half tank and load, it will take me to Kaduna and bring me back, but now, I have to buy more fuel because we spend more time on the road and the motor will be moving slowly,” he said
Our correspondent confirmed from the drivers that the average speed limit they observe is 50 kilometers per hour instead of 120 kilometers spending almost an hour more than the two and a half hours it would have taken them.
But many of them attest to the quality of work being done.
Onu said: “From what we can see, they are not patching pot holes as they were doing before but they are removing the old tar and putting new ones.
Our correspondent confirmed that the damaged parts are peeled off while new tars are laid.
An official of the ministry who was supervising work at Kakau, told our correspondent that the minister of works is expected to undertake a supervision visit on the day our correspondent observed the work.
“We are working, the minister himself has left Abuja and is coming to supervise, so work cannot stop,” he said.
From the Kaduna end, the state government has also stepped up efforts to meet the deadline.
Aside the work going on the Western by-pass, work has also started on an 8 kilometer stretch of road that will link the railway terminal at Rigasa directly to the Kaduna International Airport to save intending air travelers the task of having to pass through the Western by-pass.
Our correspondent on Tuesday observed that the road is already being graded while work on the two bridges along the route has also commenced.
Kaduna State Commissioner for Works, Housing and Transport, Hassan Mahmud Usman, said the new road would ease transportation for intending air travelers who board the trains to Kaduna during the six-week closure.
He said the road is expected to be completed in two months to meet up the deadline set for diversion of flights to Kaduna.
Managing Director of Embryo Nigeria Limited, one of the contractors handling the project, Abiodun George Samuel, said his company is working day and night to complete the work as scheduled.
“It is very feasible for us to finish the link road project next month (March) by God grace. We are going to start working here day and night,” he said.
The sector commander of the Kaduna State Command of Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Francis Udoma confirmed that there have been series of accidents along the Kaduna/ Abuja expressway since the road project began.
Even though he could not give the statistics of the accidents that have occurred in the last two weeks as at the time of filing this report; he said majority of the aaccidents were as a result of speed violation.
“When you pass through the expressway, you will accident vehicles litter around. The issue is that there are a lot of diversions as a result of the ongoing road work. There are also many settlements along the road, yet some drivers don’t maintain speed limit. We have also had cases of head-on collition. So over-speeding remain a big challenge especially with long vehicles. Our men are always by the expressway to caution drivers on speed,” he said.