Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, has waved aside worries over water retention observed on portions of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, assuring Nigerians that the project would be completed by 2031.
Umahi dropped the assurance during an inspection tour of Sections One and Two of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway alongside members of the National Assembly to evaluate the progress of work on the project.
The minister was responding to complaints by some road users and critics regarding reports of flooding and potholes on parts of the highway corridor.
Reacting to the concerns, he clarified that the water noticed along the median was linked to the project’s design provision for a future railway line.
“The median was designed for trains. What people are seeing there is about 25 metres wide, almost equivalent to another dual carriageway,” he said.
He said that excavated portions within the median had been sand-filled, noting that although the railway component was expected to start immediately, drainage channels would now be constructed to prevent water accumulation.
“The railway project has not started yet, so we have directed the contractor to create proper drainage within the median and connect it to the existing drainage network”.
The minister admitted that water had gathered in a few depressed sections of the highway but assured that corrective measures were already being implemented.
“Where there are slight depressions, water may collect temporarily. I take responsibility for that, and we are addressing it. There is no cause for concern”
Herubbished speculations that the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway could be abandoned before completion, insisting that substantial progress had already been achieved within two years of construction.
“We commenced this project in 2024, and by 2026, Section One, which spans 47 kilometres with six lanes, has been completed even though the contract duration is three years.
“Section Two, covering 55 kilometres with six lanes, will be substantially completed by November.
“Engineering is dynamic. As we move through difficult swampy terrain, redesigns become necessary.
“In some areas, international environmental regulations do not permit construction through protected forest zones, so we have to create alternative alignments,” he explained.
