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Paul Osuyi, Asaba
The Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA) has embarked on a holistic maintenance of federal roads within Delta State.
The maintenance works include patching of potholes, repairs of failed portions, desilting of blocked drains and vegetation control along federal highways.
Federal Road Maintenance Engineer of FERMA in the state, Daniel Ijie, who disclosed this while inspecting maintenance works in parts of Warri metropolis, said the agency was committed to restoring pothole free highways across the country.
Engr. Ijie explained that vegetation control was carried out on highways in order to increase the visibility and the security of road users, as well as to easily evacuate people in distressed or involved in accident.
“FERMA’s achievement in maintaining federal roads in Delta State is enormous. We are now working on Benin/Asaba dual carriage way which we have contract on. You know that before the yuletide season, Niger Bridge approach was in a bad shape, we have repaired the section that was bad there and didn’t have any gridlock during Christmas period.
“Now we are working on NPA/DSC road, Warri bye-pass extension from the beginning of NPA to DSC. We have recovered all the failed portions and patched the potholes. We have equally desilted concrete line drains at Effurun roundabout that used to cause pounding of waters at the roundabout.
“That is what we have done now. We have equally commenced vegetation control of federal roads starting off with Benin/Warri dual carriage way, we have recovered about 22 kilometres.
“This NPA/DSC road is about 70 km road, and as I speak now, all the total length have been recovered. Benin/Asaba dual carriage way, Delta section has been taken care of, the work we have done is solid.
“We tested all the materials before we started work, the asphalt was tested and properly compacted before it was laid. we don’t foresee that section we have worked going bad in the next six years,” Ijie said.
According to him, community youths along the road corridors were empowered while carrying out the clearing of grasses on the median and verges on the said highways.
“The important of vegetation control on our highway is that, it increases the visibility of road users while driving; it increases the security of road users; and it removes all the black spots. Criminally minded people do not have cover to operate.
“Also, it helps to evacuate or help people involved in accident or in distressed; it has a numerous advantages. while carrying this out, we involved all the youths in the communities along the road corridor at the same time empowering them and very soon it will become a regular exercise and youths would be gainfully engaged,” he added.
