Slow work on Dutsen Alhaji-Bwari road worries motorists
The slow pace of work on Dutsen AlhajiBwari road is a cause of worry to residents of the area, and motorists and commuters who ply the route daily.
A cross-section of residents who spoke to Daily Trust expressed worry that the construction company working on the road opened up portions of the road months ago but has left them uncovered, thereby creating a problem to road users.
The portion of the road starting from Ushafa junction to Defence College Estate junction has been opened up for reconstruction but it has remained abandoned by the company, SCC Nigeria Limited.
A resident of Bwari, Malam Usman Nasiru, lamented that after going far with the project, the construction firm stopped work for more than a month now, causing more hardship for road users.
He said for over one month now no single truck or other construction equipment of the SCC has been seen on the ground.
Daily Trust also gathered that many commuters living around the areas that previously boarded commercial vehicles to either go to the City Centre or Bwari town, now find it difficult to get such services because of the state of the road, as motorists are finding it difficult to make a stopover.
A building engineer who craved anonymity said the road shoulders were also being eroded, leaving pedestrians no chance of walking along the road.
He said the volume of heavy trucks that ply the road in its present state is also causing more damage to the works being done, which has stalled for the past month.
The Dutsen Alhaji-Bwari road which links to Jere is an alternative route to travellers going to Kaduna State.
Efforts to know why work has stalled on the road from the Satellite Towns Development Department (STDD) of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) were not fruitful.
When contacted, the Public Relations Officer of the STDD, Felicia Meeme, said she was not in a position to comment on the project. She directed all enquiries on the road construction to the Special Assistant to the FCT Minister of State on Media, Mr Austine Elemue, who promised on several occasions to provide information on why the project has stalled but failed to do so.
Also, the SCC could not be reached. Our reporter went to their office in Jabi on Friday morning but he was denied access into the premises by security men who told him that there was nobody to attend to him.